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SHE LOOKED UP TO FIND LAFAYETTE SMILING AT HER 


























































(< 


y y 


’tis a lady coming to call 









































A Little Maid 
of 

Old Philadelphia 

BY 

Alice Turner Curtis 


AUTHOR OF 

A Little Maid of Province Town 
A Little Maid of Massachusetts Colony 
A Little Maid of Narragansett Bay 
A Little Maid of Bunker Hill 
A Little Maid of Ticonderoga 
A Little Maid of Old Connecticut 


ILLUSTRATED BY EDNA COOKE 



THE PENN PUBLISHING 
COMPANY PHILADELPHIA 


1919 



COPYRIGHT 
1919 by 

THE PENN 
PUBLISHING 
COMPANY 



A Little Maid of Old Philadelphia 


"2 lyjy 


©CU529726 

/ 



Introduction 


Ruth Pennell and Winifred Merrill lived in 
Philadelphia. The city had been for some time 
in the hands of General Howe and the British 
army. Ruth's father was with Washington at 
Valley Forge, and the little girls were ardent 
supporters of the American cause, and admirers 
of the gallant young Frenchman, the Marquis 
de Lafayette. 

Children in 1778 were much like those of to¬ 
day, and Ruth and her friends, eager as they 
were for the war to end successfully, were fond 
of dolls and pets, and games and little plays. 
Yet they kept their ears open, and when Ruth 
overheard what two British soldiers said she 
knew how to make good use of her knowledge. 

In each of the other “ Little Maid ” books is 
the story of an American girl during the Revo¬ 
lution. The other stories are : “ A Little Maid 
of Province Town," “ A Little Maid of Massa- 
3 


4 


INTRODUCTION 


chusetts Colony,” “ A Little Maid of Bunker 
Hill,” “ A Little Maid of Narragansett Bay,” 
“ A Little Maid of Ticonderoga,” “ A Little 
Maid of Old Connecticut.” 


Contents 


I. 

Hero is Lost 




9 

II. 

Gilbert and Lafayette 




19 

III. 

Ruth Visits General Howe 




28 

IV. 

Aunt Deborah is Surprised 




37 

V. 

Ruth Decides 




43 

VI. 

A Difficult Day . 




53 

VII. 

Gilbert’s Play 




62 

VIII. 

Betty Runs Away 




72 

IX. 

Betty’s Adventure 




84 

X. 

The Lost Programme . 




92 

XI. 

A Long Road 




102 

XII. 

A Long Ride 




1 x 3 

XIII. 

Home Again . 




123 

XIV. 

The Candy Disappears 




*33 

XV. 

A Fairy Story 




142 

XVI. 

Betty and Annette 




X 5 X 

XVII. 

Queen Betty 




161 

XVIII. 

A Great Resolve . 




171 

XIX. 

The Visit 




182 

XX. 

Lafayette’s Visit 




i 93 

XXI. 

At Home 

• 


. 

205 


5 








Illustrations 


She Looked Up to Find Lafayette Smiling 

at Her . . . . . . Frontispiece 

“ ’Tis a Lady Coming to Call ” • • • 33 

It Was a Favorite Play-House .... 95 

“ The First of May is Garland Day ” . .162 

The Big Horse Trotted Down the Street . 190 


A Little Maid of Old Philadelphia 


7 















A Little Maid of Old 
Philadelphia 


CHAPTER I 

HERO IS LOST 

“ Where do you suppose Hero can be, Aunt 
Deborah? He isn’t anywhere about the house, 
or in the shed or the garden,” and Ruth Pen¬ 
nell’s voice sounded as if she could hardly keep 
back the tears as she stood in the doorway of 
the pleasant kitchen where Aunt Deborah was 
at work. , 

“ Do you suppose the British have taken 
him?’’she asked a little fearfully; for it was 
the spring of 1778, when the British troops were 
in Philadelphia, and Ruth was quite sure that 
every English soldier who saw Hero must want 
him for his own. The dog was her dearest pos¬ 
session. On her tenth birthday, nearly a year 
before, her father had given her Hero for a 
9 


IO 


A LITTLE MAID 


birthday present; and now that her father was 
with Washington’s army his gift seemed even 
more precious to his little daughter. 

Aunt Deborah looked at Ruth for a moment 
before she answered, and Ruth became conscious 
that her brown hair was rough and untidy from 
running about the garden in the March wind, 
that her hands were not clean, and that there 
was an ugly rent in her blue checked apron 
where it had caught on a nail in the shed. 

“ Was it not yesterday that thee declared Hero 
was stolen, only to find that he had followed 
Winifred Merrill home? And on Sunday, thee 
was sure he had been killed, because he did not 
appear the first time thee called,” responded 
Aunt Deborah reprovingly. Aunt Deborah was 
not very large, and her smooth round face under 
the neat cap, such as Quaker women wear, was 
usually smiling and friendly; but it always 
seemed to Ruth that no least bit of dirt or un¬ 
tidiness ever escaped those gray eyes. 

“ Do you suppose he is at Winifred’s? I wish 
she wouldn’t let him follow her,” and Ruth’s 
tone was troubled. Of course Winifred was her 
dearest friend, but Ruth was not willing that 
Hero should divide his loyalty. 


OF OLD PHILADELPHIA u 


“ Very likely/’ responded Aunt Deborah, 
“ but thee must smooth thy hair, wash thy 
hands and change thy apron before thee goes 
to inquire; and put on thy hat. It is not 
seemly for a girl to run about the street bare¬ 
headed.” 

“ Oh, Aunt Deborah! Only to go next 
door! ” pleaded Ruth, but Aunt Deborah only 
nodded; so Ruth went to her own room and in 
a few minutes was back tying the broad brown 
ribbons of her hat under her chin as she ran 
through the kitchen. 

“1 do hope Mother will come home soon,” 
the little girl thought as she went down the 
front steps to the street; “ Aunt Deborah is so 
fussy.” 

Mrs. Pennell had been away for a week car¬ 
ing for her sister who lived in Germantown, 
near Philadelphia, and who was ill; and Aunt 
Deborah Mary Farleigh had come in from her 
home at Barren Hill, twelve miles distant, to 
stay with Ruth during Mrs. Pennell’s absence. 

As Ruth ran up the steps of her friend’s house 
the front door opened, and Winifred appeared. 

“Oh, Ruthie ! Where are you going?” she 
asked smilingly. 


I 2 


A LITTLE MAID 


Winifred was just a month older than Ruth, 
and they were very nearly the same size. They 
both had blue eyes; but Ruth’s hair was of a 
darker brown than Winifred’s. They had both 
attended the same school until Lord Cornwallis 
with his troops entered Philadelphia ; since that 
time each little girl had been taught at home. 

“ Is Hero here? ” Ruth asked, hardly noticing 
her friend’s question. 

Winifred shook her head. 

“Are you sure , Winifred? Perhaps he ran 
in your garden and you didn’t see him,” said 
Ruth. 

“ Well, we’ll see. We’ll call him,” Winifred 
replied, holding the door open for Ruth to 
come in. 

The Merrill and Pennell houses were separated 
by a high brick wall, and each house stood near 
the street with broad gardens on each side as 
well as at the rear. 

The two friends went through the house, and 
out on a narrow porch and Ruth called, “ Hero ! 
Hero! ” but there was no welcoming bark, no 
sight of the brown shepherd dog. They went 
about the yard calling, and Winifred’s older 
brother Gilbert, who was preparing a garden bed 


OF OLD PHILADELPHIA 


l 3 

near the farther wall, assured them that the dog 
had not been there that morning. 

“ Then he is lost! What shall I do ! ” said 
Ruth despairingly. “ I do believe the English 
have taken him. Only yesterday, on Second 
Street, when Aunt Deborah and I were coming 
home, an officer patted him and called him a 
‘ fine dog/ ” she continued quickly. 

Gilbert and Winifred both looked very serious 
at this statement. Gilbert was fourteen years 
old. He was tall for his age, and thought him¬ 
self quite old enough to be a soldier; but as his 
father and elder brother were both in Washing¬ 
ton’s army he realized that he must stay at 
home and take care of his mother and Wini¬ 
fred. 

“ I have a mind to go straight to High Street 
and tell General Howe,” said Ruth, “ for I 
heard my mother say that the English general 
would not permit his soldiers to take what did 
not belong to them.” 

Gilbert shook his head soberly. 

“ That may be true ; but you are not sure that 
your dog has been stolen,” he said. “ You had 
best wait a while. Hero may have wandered 
off and may come home safely. I’d not ask any 


A LITTLE MAID 


14 

favors of America's enemies/' he concluded, 
picking up his spade and turning back to his 
work. 

“ It wouldn't be a favor to ask for what be¬ 
longed to me," Ruth answered sharply. But 
Gilbert's words made her more hopeful; Wini¬ 
fred was sure that Gilbert was right, and that 
Hero would come safely home. 

“ Come up to my room, Ruthie; Mother has 
given me her scrap-bag. I can have all the 
pieces of silk and chintz to make things for my 
dolls, and you can pick out something to make 
your Cecilia a bonnet, and perhaps a cape." 

“Oh! Truly, Winifred?" responded Ruth, 
almost forgetting Hero in this tempting offer. 
The two little girls ran up the broad stairway to 
Winifred's room, which was at the back of the 
house overlooking the garden. The two win¬ 
dows had broad window-seats, and on one of 
these, in a small chair, made of stiff pasteboard 
and covered with a flowered chintz, sat “ Joseph¬ 
ine," Winifred's most treasured doll. Josephine 
wore a very full skirt of crimson silk, a cape of 
the same material, and on her head rested a 
bonnet of white silk, on the front of which was a 
tall white feather. There were two smaller 


OF OLD PHILADELPHIA 15 

dolls, and each occupied a chair exactly like the 
one in which Josephine was seated, but neither 
of them was so beautifully dressed. 

“ I made that bonnet myself," Winifred de¬ 
clared, as Ruth kneeled down beside the dolls 
and exclaimed admiringly over Josephine's fine 
apparel. “ And that feather is one that came 
floating into our garden. Gilbert says it's an 
eagle's feather," she continued. 

“ It is lovely !" Ruth said, “ and this win¬ 
dow is the nicest place to play dolls in all 
Philadelphia. And these dolls’ chairs are splen¬ 
did. I wish I had one for Cecilia." 

“ Well, why don't you make one ? I helped 
Grandma make these. All you have to do is 
cut the pieces out of cardboard, cover them 
with cloth, and sew them together. I'll help 
you," said Winifred, as she opened a closet door 
and drew out a brown linen bag. 

“ This is the scrap-bag. Look, Ruthie ;" and 
she drew out a long strip of plaided silk. 

0 That would make a lovely sash for Cecilia," 
said Ruth, “ but of course it would be nice 
for Josephine," she added quickly, half-afraid 
that she had seemed grasping of Winifred's pos¬ 
sessions. 


i6 


A LITTLE MAID 


“ Josephine doesn’t like a sash,” said Wini¬ 
fred. “ You take it home and tell Cecilia it’s a 
present from Aunt Winifred.” 

Then there was a roll of small pieces of pale 
blue satin; just right to make a bonnet for 
Ruth’s doll. 

For some time the little girls played happily 
with the bright pieces of silk, selecting bits for 
one or the other of the dolls, so that when the 
big clock in the hall struck twelve Ruth jumped 
up in surprise. 

“ Oh, Winnie! It’s dinner-time! What 
will Aunt Deborah say to me ? ” she exclaimed, 
putting on her hat, and gathering up the silk 
pieces. 

“ Thank you, Winnie ! I must run. Aunt 
Deborah doesn’t like me to be late, ever,” she 
said, hurrying toward the stairway. 

“ Come over to-morrow and I’ll help you 
make a doll’s chair; and I hope you’ll find 
Hero safe at home,” Winifred called after her as 
Ruth ran down the stairs. 

At Winifred’s words all Ruth’s pleasure in the 
morning’s play, in the pretty bits of silk for her 
dolls, and the plan for making the chairs, van¬ 
ished. Hero was lost; she knew he was. With 


OF OLD PHILADELPHIA 17 

his silky coat, and his faithful, soft brown eyes, 
his eager bark of welcome when his little mis¬ 
tress came running into the garden for a game of 
hide-and-go-seek with him. 

Aunt Deborah had spread the table for dinner, 
which was one of Ruth’s regular duties ; and 
when Ruth came slowly into the room she was 
just bringing in a dish of baked potatoes hot 
from the oven. 

“ I didn’t find Hero,” said Ruth, throwing 
her little package of silks on a chair and then 
her hat on top of it. “ What shall I do, Aunt 
Deborah ? What shall I do ? I am sure one of 
those English soldiers has taken him,” and now 
Ruth began to cry. 

“ Ruth ! Stop thy foolish crying. Thy 
dinner is waiting. Go to thy room and make 
thyself tidy,” commanded Aunt Deborah, “ and 
take thy hat and package,” she added. 

Ruth obeyed rather reluctantly. “ All Aunt 
Deborah thinks about is keeping 1 tidy/ ” she 
whispered rebelliously as she left the room. 
“ I’ve washed my hands three times already 
to-day. She doesn’t care if Hero is lost. Prob¬ 
ably she’s glad, because his paws are dirty.” 

But Ruth was mistaken ; Aunt Deborah had 


i8 


A LITTLE MAID 


spent an hour that morning in going up and 
down the alley looking for the missing dog, and 
in a careful search of the house and garden. 
She valued Hero’s faithfulness ; and not even 
Ruth herself would have been more pleased 
than Aunt Deborah to hear his bark, and see 
him jump forward from his usual playground 
in the garden. 

“ Perhaps Hero has wandered off,” Aunt Deb¬ 
orah said when Ruth took her place at the 
table, “ but he will come back, I doubt not, be¬ 
fore nightfall.” 

“ If he doesn’t I shall go and tell the British 
General that he must find him,” declared Ruth, 
somewhat to Aunt Deborah’s amusement; who 
was quite sure that the little girl would not dare 
to approach General Howe, who had comfort¬ 
ably established himself in one of the fine houses 
on High Street. 


CHAPTER II 


GILBERT AND LAFAYETTE 

Two days passed and there was no tidings of 
the missing dog; and even Aunt Deborah be¬ 
gan to fear that they should never see him 
again. It was very difficult for Ruth to attend 
to the tasks that Aunt Deborah set for her; for 
all she could think of was Hero. 

Gilbert Merrill had gone about the city mak¬ 
ing inquiries, but no one had seen Hero, or could 
tell him anything about Ruth's dog. Aunt 
Deborah was very sorry for her little niece, but 
she still insisted that Ruth should dust the 
dining-room as carefully each morning as if 
Hero was safe in the yard; that the little girl 
should knit her stint on the gray wool sock, 
intended for some loyal soldier, and sew for a 
half hour each afternoon. 

Ruth dropped stitches in her knitting, for a 
little blur of tears hid her work from sight 
19 


20 


A LITTLE MAID 


when she thought that perhaps her dear Hero 
might be hurt, unable to find his way home; 
or perhaps he was shut up somewhere by some 
cruel person who did not care if he was fed or 
not. 

Aunt Deborah was very patient with the little 
girl. She picked up the dropped stitches in the 
knitting; and when she found how uneven a 
seam Ruth was stitching she picked out the 
threads without a word of reproof. 

But on the second day, as they sat at work 
in the little sewing-room at the top of the stairs, 
Ruth threw down her knitting and began to 
cry. 

I can't knit! I can't do anything until 
Hero is found. You know I can't, Aunt Deb¬ 
orah. And I do wish my mother would come 
home," she sobbed. 

Aunt Deborah did not speak for a moment. 
She had no little girls of her own, and she 
often feared that she might not know what was 
exactly right for her little niece. So she never 
spoke hastily. 

“ For thy sake, dear child, I wish that thy 
mother were here: but it is very pleasant for 
me to have thy company, Ruth," she said in 


OF OLD PHILADELPHIA 21 


her musical, even voice. “ Would thee not like 
to go and play with Winifred ? But be sure thy 
hair is smooth.” 

But Ruth made no reply. She stopped cry¬ 
ing, however, and looked up at Aunt Deborah. 

“ Didn't you like Hero ? ” she asked. 

Aunt Deborah knitted on until she came to 
the last stitch on her needle, then she lay down 
her work, and looked at Ruth with her pleasant 
smile. 

“Indeed, I liked Hero,” she said; “ but sup¬ 
pose I decided that because he was lost I would 
no longer prepare thy breakfast or dinner? that 
I would not see that thy mother’s house was in 
order. Thee would truly think I had but little 
sense. It does not prove thy liking to cry be¬ 
cause thy dog is lost; to fix thy thoughts on 
thy own feelings and leave thy tasks for me to 
do. It does not help bring Hero back. Now, 
put on thy hat and cape and we will walk 
toward the river. I have an errand to do,” and 
Aunt Deborah got up and went to her own 
room to put on her long gray cape and the gray 
bonnet that she always wore on the street. 

She was waiting in the front hall when Ruth 
came slowly down the stairs. She had put on 


22 


A LITTLE MAID 


her brown straw hat, whose ribbons tied beneath 
her chin, and the pretty cape of blue cloth ; for 
there was a sharp little March wind, although 
the sun shone brightly. Ruth’s face was very 
sober ; there were traces of tears on her cheeks. 
She wished that she had said she would rather 
play with Winifred ; but it was too late now. 

“ We need many things, but I fear ’twill not be 
easy to purchase either good cotton cloth or a 
package of pepper,” Aunt Deborah said as they 
turned on to Second Street. “ There was but 
little in the shops when the British came, and 
of that little they have taken for themselves so 
there is not much left for the people.” 

“ They have taken Hero, I know they have ! ” 
Ruth replied. “ I wish Washington would come 
and drive the English out.” 

“ Oh ! Ho ! So here is a small rebel declar¬ 
ing treason right to the face of an officer of the 
King! ” and Ruth, surprised and frightened, felt 
a hand on her shoulder, and looked up to find 
a tall soldier in a red coat with shining buttons 
and bands of gilt looking at her with evident 
amusement. 

“ You had best whisper such words as those, 
young lady,” he added sternly, and passed on, 



OF OLD PHILADELPHIA 23 

leaving Ruth and Aunt Deborah standing sur¬ 
prised and half-frightened. 

“This is an American city,” Aunt Deborah 
announced calmly, as they walked on. “ These 
intruders can stay but a time. But they have 
sharp ears, indeed. Does thee know why thy 
father named thy dog ‘ Hero ” she continued, 
looking down at Ruth. 

44 Oh, yes ! Father said 1 hero ’ meant cour¬ 
age and honor ; and so it was the right name for 
such a fine dog,” Ruth answered quickly. 
44 Aunt Deborah ! What was that ? ” she added, 
stopping short. For she had heard a familiar 
bark. 

But Aunt Deborah had heard nothing. They 
were passing a house where a number of soldiers 
were sitting on the porch smoking. 

44 1 heard Hero bark. He is in that house,” 
Ruth declared, and before Aunt Deborah could 
say a word to prevent such a rash act Ruth had 
run up the steps. 

44 Have you found a lost dog, if you please? ” 
she asked, half-frightened, when she found her¬ 
self facing two red-faced soldiers who looked at 
her as if she were some wild bird that had flown 
to the porch. Before they could reply Aunt 


A LITTLE MAID 


24 

Deborah's hand was on Ruth's arm, and the 
little girl heard her aunt saying : “ Thee must 
pardon the child. She has lost her dog, and is 
greatly troubled. She means no harm." 

The younger of the two men stood up and 
bowed politely, and held his hat in his hand 
until Aunt Deborah had led Ruth back to the 
street; but neither of the men had answered her 
question. 

“ Oh, Aunt Deborah ! What made you ? I 
know Hero is in that house. I heard him 
bark. You spoiled it all," sobbed Ruth, as 
Aunt Deborah, holding her fast by the hand, 
hurried toward home, quite forgetting the er¬ 
rands she wished to do. 

Aunt Deborah sighed to herself. She began 
to fear that Ruth was a difficult child ; and 
that perhaps she did not know the right way to 
deal with little girls. But she did not reprove 
Ruth either for her rash act or for speaking with 
so little regard of Aunt Deborah's authority. 

“May I go in and see Winifred?" Ruth 
asked when they reached home, and Aunt Deb¬ 
orah gave her permission. 

“ Oh, Winifred! I know where Hero is," 
Ruth declared, as the two friends went up to 


OF OLD PHILADELPHIA 25 

Winifred’s room, and she hastened to tell the 
adventures of the walk with Aunt Deborah. 

“ I am going back after him, Winifred, and 
you must come with me,” she concluded. 

But Winifred said that her mother was out, 
and that she must not leave the house until her 
return. She looked at Ruth admiringly. 

“ I think you were brave, Ruth, to ask those 
soldiers. But I don’t believe they would give 
you back Hero if you do go back. Perhaps 
they would make you a prisoner,” she said a 
little fearfully; and at last Ruth reluctantly 
agreed not to go after the dog that day. The 
little girls decided that the best way would be 
to go straight to General Howe and tell him that 
one of his soldiers had taken Hero, and was 
keeping him from his rightful owner. 

“ I’ll go to-morrow. But we must not let Aunt 
Deborah know,” said Ruth, and Winifred prom¬ 
ised to keep the plan a secret. 

Now that there seemed a hope of rescuing her 
dog Ruth was nearly her own happy self again. 
Winifred got out some squares of pasteboard 
and very carefully marked out patterns of the 
back and sides, as well as for the seat, for the 
dolls’ chair. Then she went to find Gilbert to 


26 


A LITTLE MAID 


borrow his knife with which to cut the card¬ 
board ; and before Ruth started for home the 
pieces were all ready to be covered. As the two 
little friends sat in the pleasant window-seat 
Winifred said : “ What do you think, Ruthie ! 
Gilbert wants to change his name. He wants 
us to call him Lafayette! ” and Winifred 
laughed, as if she thought the idea very funny. 

“ Why, I think that is splendid ! ” Ruth re¬ 
plied, her blue eyes shining at the thought of a 
“ Lafayette ” next door to her own home. For 
all the children of Philadelphia knew the story 
of the brave young Frenchman, hardly more 
than a boy himself, who had left all the com¬ 
forts of his Paris home to share the danger and 
privations of the American soldiers. He had 
visited Philadelphia the previous summer, 1777 , 
soon after his arrival in America. Gilbert had 
seen the handsome young officer, and ever since 
then he had pleaded that he might be called 
“ Lafayette ” instead of Gilbert. 

“ If I were a boy I should wish my name 
‘ Lafayette/ ” declared Ruth. “ I wish we could 
do something for him, don't you, Winifred ? ” 

“ Yes ; but what could two little girls do for 
him ? Why, he is a hero, and a friend of Wash- 


OF OLD PHILADELPHIA 27 

ington’s,” Winifred responded. Neither Ruth 
nor Winifred imagined that it would be only a 
few months before one of them would do a great 
service for the gallant young Frenchman. 


CHAPTER III 


RUTH VISITS GENERAL HOWE 

Aunt Deborah was unusually quiet in her 
manner toward her little niece when Ruth came 
home with the cardboard ready to be covered. 
She did not ask Ruth to set the table for supper, 
but began to spread the cloth herself. 

“ I will do that, Aunt Deborah. You know 
I always do,” Ruth said, laying down the parts 
for the dolls’ chair, and coming toward the table. 

“ I will do it. Thou mayst go to thy room, 
Ruth; I will call thee when supper is ready,” 
Aunt Deborah replied, without a glance at the 
little girl. 

Ruth felt her face flush uncomfortably as she 
suddenly recalled the way in which she had 
spoken to Aunt Deborah after her aunt had led 
her away from the porch where the English 
soldiers were sitting, and where Ruth was sure 
Hero was hidden. She went up the stairs very 
slowly to her own chamber, a small room open- 
28 


OF OLD PHILADELPHIA 29 

ing from the large front room where Aunt 
Deborah slept. She sat down near the window, 
feeling not only ashamed but very unhappy. 

“ If my mother were only here I shouldn’t be 
sent off up-stairs. I don’t like Aunt Deborah,” 
she exclaimed, and looked up to see her aunt 
standing in the doorway. 

For a moment the two looked at each other, 
and Ruth could see that Aunt Deborah was try¬ 
ing very hard to keep back the tears. Then the 
door closed, very softly, and Ruth was again alone. 

“ Oh, dear,” she whispered, “ and I promised 
my mother to do everything I could to help 
Aunt Deborah, and now she heard me say that 
I don’t like her,” and Ruth leaned her head 
against the arm of the big chair in which she 
had curled up and began to cry, quite sure that 
no little girl in all Philadelphia had as much 
reason for unhappiness as herself. 

After a little she wiped her eyes, and began 
to think over her misfortunes: First of all, 
Hero was lost. Then came all the troubles 
that, it seemed to Ruth, Aunt Deborah was to 
blame for. As she said them over to herself 
they appeared sufficient reasons for her dislike : 
“ She is always fussing. Always telling me to 


A LITTLE MAID 


3 ° 

brush my hair, or wash my hands, or not to soil 
my dress. And I do believe she is glad that 
Hero is lost, and does not wish me to find him 
because he brings dirt into the house.” 

As Ruth finished a sudden resolve came into 
her mind. She would not wait for the next 
day before going to General Howe to tell her 
story of Hero's disappearance, and of being sure 
that he had been taken by an English soldier. 
She would go at once. If she waited perhaps 
Aunt Deborah would find some way of prevent¬ 
ing the carrying out of the plan. 

41 Perhaps if General Howe thought I was a 
grown-up lady, or nearly grown up, he would 
pay more attention than to what a little girl 
might ask,” thought Ruth. And then a great 
idea flashed into her mind : she would pretend 
to be grown up. 

44 I'll wear Mother's best dress, and do up my 
hair and wear her bonnet,” she decided; and 
opening her chamber door she ran through 
Aunt Deborah's room to the deep closet where 
her mother's best dress, a pretty gown of russet- 
colored silk, was hanging. Ruth pulled it down, 
slipped it on over her dress of stout brown ging¬ 
ham, and began to fasten it. 


OF OLD PHILADELPHIA 31 

“ I didn’t know my mother was so big,” she 
thought regretfully, as she managed to turn 
back the long sleeves, and glanced down at the 
full breadths of the skirt which lay in a big 
waving circle about her feet. “ I’ll have to hold 
it up as high as I can to walk at all.” 

In a few minutes the dress was fastened, and 
she managed to pin up her hair; and now she 
drew out the bandbox containing her mother’s 
best bonnet. It was made of a pretty shade of 
brown velvet, with a wreath of delicate green 
leaves, and strings of pale green ribbon. 

Ruth tied the strings firmly under her chin. 
The bonnet came well down over her face, nearly 
hiding her ears, but the little girl thought this 
was very fortunate, as it would prevent any one 
discovering who she was, if she should happen 
to meet any friend or acquaintance. 

She began to feel hurried and a little afraid 
that Aunt Deborah might call her to supper be¬ 
fore she could escape from the house. Holding 
up the brown silk skirt, and stepping very care¬ 
fully, she made her way down the stairs, opened 
the front door, and with a long breath of relief, 
found herself standing on the front porch. 

The late afternoon was already growing 


A LITTLE MAID 


32 

shadowy with the approach of twilight; and 
there was no one to be seen on the quiet street 
as Ruth, holding her skirt up in front while the 
sides and back trailed about her on the dirty 
pavement, walked hurriedly along toward High 
Street. 

“ Til walk more like a grown-up lady when I 
get near the General's house," she resolved. 
“ Won't Winifred be surprised when she knows 
that the English General thought I really was 
grown up? " and Ruth gave a little laugh of de¬ 
light at the thought of her friend's astonish¬ 
ment, quite forgetting all the troubles that had 
seemed so overpowering an hour before. 

As she turned into High Street she found her¬ 
self facing the amused stare of two young ladies 
who were hurrying home from an afternoon 
walk. 

“ I suppose they were laughing because I was 
holding up my skirt," thought Ruth, quite un¬ 
conscious of her absurd appearance, “ but I’ll 
have to, for I couldn’t walk a step if I didn't," 
she decided. 

Two English soldiers were on guard at the 
entrance of the fine mansion that the English 
General had taken from its rightful owner for 


OF OLD PHILADELPHIA 33 

his own use; and as Ruth, now half afraid to 
go up the steps, stood looking up at them a 
little fearfully, one of them noticed the queer 
little figure, and, quite forgetting his dignity, 
chuckled with amusement. 

“ Look, Dick ! Here is a lady admiring our 
fine uniforms,” he said, calling his companion’s 
attention to Ruth, whose gown now trailed about 
her, and whose bonnet had slipped to one side. 

“ Tis a lady coming to call on the General,” 
responded “Dick,” with a wink at the first 
speaker. 

“ Did you wish to see General Howe, madam ? ” 
he continued, looking down at Ruth, while his 
companion chuckled with delight. 

“ Yes, if you please,” Ruth managed to reply, 
beginning to feel a little afraid, and wishing 
that she had waited until the next day when 
Winifred might have come with her. 

“ Kindly walk up the steps, madam, and I 
will announce you to the General,” continued 
the young soldier, welcoming the hope of a little 
amusement to break the monotony of his daily 
duties. 

Ruth obeyed, stumbling a little as she reached 
the top. 


34 


A LITTLE MAID 


“ And what name shall I say ? ” Dick asked, 
bowing very low. 

“ Mistress Ruth Dillingham Pennell, if you 
please, sir,” Ruth replied, gaining a little cour¬ 
age, and trying to stand as tall as possible, 
hardly sure if the young soldier was really 
laughing at her, or if he believed her dress to be 
a proof of at least twenty years of experience. 

“ ’Twill be good sport for the General and 
his friends. They are just sitting down to 
dinner,” “ Dick ” whispered to the other guard, 
as he swung open the big door and ushered 
Ruth into the hall, and then led the way 
toward the dining-room. 

“ What nonsense is this, Dick? We are not 
rehearsing any play just now,” called a gay 
voice; and Ruth and the young soldier were 
confronted by a tall officer whom Ruth instantly 
recognized as the same who had called her a 
“ rebel ” that very afternoon on Second Street. 

She became really frightened. Suppose he 
should remember her, and tell General Howe 
what she had said about Washington driving 
the English from the city? It might be that, 
just as Winifred had said, and they would put 
her in prison. She wished she were safely at 


OF OLD PHILADELPHIA 35 

home with Aunt Deborah. But “ Dick ” was 
speaking to the handsome young officer. 

“ Ah, now, Major Andre, ’twill be as good as 
any comedy you have seen in South Street,” he 
declared, “ and the General will be well pleased. 
No harm shall come to the child.” 

“ Well, I’ll not interfere. This is a dull town 
at best,” responded the young officer laughingly, 
and without another glance at Ruth, he entered 
the dining-room, with a word to the soldier who 
stood at the door. The big door was now swung 
wide open by two servants in the livery of the 
English General. Just beyond them stood 
Major Andre, who bowed very low as Ruth 
entered, and said: 

“ General Howe, a lady who greatly desires to 
ask a favor of you,” and Ruth found herself on 
the threshold of the beautiful room whose 
paneled walls were brilliantly lighted by many 
wax candles in silver sconces. The table was 
handsomely spread with fine china, glass and 
silver; and about it were seated a number of 
English officers. 

“ More comedy, Andre ! ” called a pleasant 
voice; “ kindly bring the lady this way,” and 
General Howe rose from his seat at the head of 


36 A LITTLE MAID 

the table, and instantly all his guests were on 
their feet. 

Major Andre held out his hand to Ruth. She 
well knew that this was the proper moment to 
make her best curtsy, and in spite of the 
clumsy skirt, the bonnet which kept nodding 
over her face, and the long sleeves that had 
slipped down over her hands, she managed to 
make a not ungraceful curtsy. 

There was a little murmur of applause, and 
Major Andr§ smiled kindly upon her, and tak¬ 
ing her hand led her toward the head of the 
table with as much grace and courtesy as if he 
were handing Miss Peggy Shippen herself, one 
of the beauties of the town, to a seat at General 
Howe’s dinner table. 

“ You are a most welcome guest,” declared the 
English General smilingly, as Ruth stood before 
him. “ I understand you have a favor to ask of 
me. Whatever it is you may be very sure I will 
be most happy to grant it,” and he smiled down 
at the queer little figure, quite sure that his 
young officer Major Andr6 had planned the 
whole affair for his amusement. 

“ If you please, sir, I want my dog,” said 
Ruth falteringly. 


CHAPTER IV 


AUNT DEBORAH IS SURPRISED 

Years after, when Ruth was really " grown 
up,” she often recalled the wonderful night when 
she sat at General Howe’s dinner-table. For 
Major Andre had lifted her to a seat beside the 
General; with a friendly word he untied the 
bonnet-strings and put the bonnet on a side 
table ; and Ruth began to think that it was all 
a dream from which she would soon awaken to 
find herself safely at home. She wondered if it 
really were Ruth Pennell who was answering 
the General’s questions about the missing Hero. 

“ I can do no less than try to find your dog, 
little maid,” he said, “ for when my own dog 
wandered away to General Washington’s camp, 
in the Germantown fray, the General sent him 
back to me under the protection of a flag of 
truce; so, as you tell me your father is with 
Washington, I must see to it that Hero is 
found. That is, if one of my soldiers has so far 
forgotten orders as to have taken him,” for the 
37 


A LITTLE MAID 


38 

English General took every care that his soldiers 
should do no harm to the residents of the city. 

Ruth was sure that she knew the very house 
where she had heard Hero’s bark ; and now that 
General Howe had promised that a search should 
be made she was eager to go home, and slid out 
of the chair just as a servant set a plate before 
her. 

“ I must go home. I—I—ran away/’ she said 
a little falteringly, looking up at the tall Gen¬ 
eral. “ Will you please find Hero the first thing 
to-morrow ? ” 

“ Here, Andr6 ! the young lady wishes to re¬ 
turn home,” said the General, “ and see to it 
that you take her there safety, and that you find 
the lost Hero. And find a better plot for your 
next comedy,” the General added, as the young 
officer came forward. 

Ruth wondered what “ comedy ” meant. She 
did not know that Major Andr6, whose gay good 
humor and charming manner made him a 
favorite with all, was depended upon to furnish 
amusement for his brother officers ; or that they 
had at first believed that Ruth, stumbling into 
the dining-room dressed as a woman, was the 
first act of some amusing pla}^ of Andre’s con- 


OF OLD PHILADELPHIA 39 

triving. Now that it proved she was only a 
runaway little girl looking for a lost dog they 
found it amusing that the young officer should 
have the trouble of taking her home. 

Ruth could never quite remember the manner 
in which the General bade her good-bye, or if 
she make her curtsy, or even thanked him for 
promising that Hero should be found. 

Major Andre tied on her bonnet, and opening 
a door that led to a side entrance, led her to the 
street. 

“ Now tell me the way, and I'll have you 
home in a jiffy,” he said pleasantly. 

But it was no easy matter for Ruth to walk as 
rapidly as her companion; she stumbled over 
the skirt; the strings of her bonnet had slipped 
so that it kept bobbing over her eyes and had to 
be pushed back ; and she was now so frightened 
at the thought of what Aunt Deborah would say 
that she hardly knew in what direction they 
were going until the young officer stopped at 
her own door and lifted the knocker whose rap 
was sure to bring Aunt Deborah hastening to 
answer it. 

“ You will not forget about Hero ? ” Ruth said 
as they stood on the steps. 


4 o 


A LITTLE MAID 


“ Indeed, I shall not. Be very sure I will do 
my best to find your dog. I will go to the 
house on Second Street early to-morrow,” re¬ 
sponded Andre, and the door swung open and 
Aunt Deborah, holding a candle in one hand, 
stood looking at them. 

“ Here is your little girl, madam ; she has 
done no harm, I assure you. She did but make 
a friendly call on General Howe, who sent me 
to bring her safely home,” said the young officer, 
hat in hand, and making his best bow. 

“ I thank thee for bringing the child home, 
sir,” responded Aunt Deborah, drawing Ruth 
firmly over the threshold and closing the door 
before Major Andre could say another word. 
The young officer hurried back to the General’s 
dinner-table, a little vexed that he had made 
so much needless trouble for himself by intro¬ 
ducing the queer little girl to General Howe. 

“ Slip off thy mother’s dress at once, before 
you do it further harm,” said Aunt Deborah; 
and Ruth, not daring to look up, hastened to 
obey, as she stood in the dimly-lit hall. 

“ I—I—only went to look for Hero,” Ruth 
tried to explain, after a moment’s silence. 

“ So thee had to put on thy mother’s very 


OF OLD PHILADELPHIA 41 

best gown ; one that she does not wear herself 
save on great occasions,” responded Aunt Deb¬ 
orah, taking up the silk dress out of which Ruth 
had just stepped. “It is probably ruined. Go 
straight to bed. Thou art a wilful and unruly 
child,” she continued, as Ruth started toward 
the stairway. 

Aunt Deborah followed her, the dress over her 
arm, but she said no more until they reached 
Ruth’s chamber. 

“ I believed thee safe in thy room. When 
thee did not come to supper I thought thee 
ashamed and sorry, because of the manner in 
which thou spoke to me; so I did not open the 
door. But no ; thee was playing at being some 
one beside thy rightful self; and going to the 
house of an enemy against whom thy father is 
fighting. I know not what to say to thee, Ruth, 
nor how to make thee realize that thee has 
brought shame upon us,” said Aunt Deborah. 

Ruth was crying bitterly, and could make no 
response. Aunt Deborah took the candle and 
left the room, leaving Ruth to find her way 
into bed in the dark. She wished with all 
her heart that she had not worn her mother’s 
silk gown and pretty bonnet. If they really 


42 


A LITTLE MAID 


were ruined she knew it would be a long time 
before her mother could replace them ; for there 
was no extra money in the little household 
while America was fighting for her rightful 
liberties. 

“ None of them, not even General Howe, be¬ 
lieved that I was really grown up. They were 
just laughing at me,” she thought. “It would 
have been just as well if I had waited, and had 
asked Aunt Deborah if I might not go. Oh, 
dear I And now I have spoiled Mother’s dress.” 

Ruth was so unhappy that she had quite for¬ 
gotten that Hero might soon be restored to her. 


CHAPTER V 


RUTH DECIDES 

Ruth slept late the next morning, and when 
she first awoke it was with the puzzled feeling 
of waking from a bad dream. Then slowly she 
remembered the happenings of the previous day. 

The spring sunlight filled the room. From a 
hawthorn tree just below her window she could 
hear a robin singing as if there were nothing 
but sunshine and delight in all the world. And 
then the big clock in the hallway began to strike. 
“ One! two ! three ! four ! five ! six ! seven ! 
eight! Nine! ” counted the little girl, and 
with the last stroke she was out of bed. 

Before she was dressed Aunt Deborah opened 
the door. 

“ Good-morning, Ruth,” she said pleasantly, 
quite as if nothing had happened on the pre¬ 
vious day, and that Ruth had not slept two 
hours later than usual. “ I have brought thee 
thy breakfast; and thee may stay in thy room 
until I call thee,” and Aunt Deborah set a small 
43 


A LITTLE MAID 


44 

tray on the light stand near the window, and 
before Ruth could make any response she had 
left the room. 

Ruth was very hungry. She had no supper 
on the previous night, and she now looked 
eagerly toward the little tray, which held only 
a bowl and pitcher. The bowl was nearly full 
of porridge, and the pitcher of creamy milk. 

That was all very well; and she ate it all, to 
the last spoonful. But usually there were hot 
corn muffins and a bit of bacon or an egg to 
follow the porridge, and Ruth was still hungry. 

“ Perhaps Aunt Deborah forgot,” thought 
Ruth, “ but I don’t believe she did. Perhaps 
she is only provoked at me for being late for 
breakfast! ” 

Ruth shook up her pillows, turned back the 
blankets of her bed, and then went to the win¬ 
dow and leaned out. There were two robins 
now on the top branch of the hawthorn, and 
for a moment she watched them, wondering if 
they were planning to build a nest there. The 
window overlooked the Merrills’ garden ; and 
in a few minutes Ruth saw Gilbert coming 
along the path toward the wall. 

“ Lafayette! La-fay-ette ! ” she called. 


OF OLD PHILADELPHIA 45 

Gilbert looked about as if puzzled, and Ruth 
called again. “ I’m up-stairs. Gil-bert!” and 
at this the boy turned and looked up, and 
waved his hat in response. 

“ I’ve found Hero,” she called. “ Honest l 
And an English officer is going to bring him 
home this very morning.” 

“ Come on over and tell Winifred,” responded 
Gilbert. “ She has something to tell you, too. 
Something fine.” 

“ I can’t come over this morning. I-” but 

before Ruth could say another word she felt a 
firm hand on her shoulder, and she was drawn 
into the room and the window closed, and Aunt 
Deborah was looking at her reprovingly. 

“ Ruth, why did thee think I wanted thee to 
stay up-stairs this morning ? ” she asked. 

Ruth shook her head sullenly. She said to 
herself that no matter what Aunt Deborah 
might say she would not answer. 

“Well, my child, then I must tell thee. I 
hoped thee would think over thy wilfulness of 
yesterday ; that thee would realize that thy con¬ 
duct was such as would grieve and shame thy 
father and mother. Dost thou think it a small 
thing nearly to ruin thy mother’s best gown? 



A LITTLE MAID 


46 

To go dressed as if in a play to the house of an 
enemy of thy country to ask a favor ? And be¬ 
fore that thee quite forgot thy good manners in 
rushing up the steps of that house on Second 
Street, and then speaking rudely to me, who 
have no wish but to be kind to thee and help 
thee be a good girl.” 

While Aunt Deborah was speaking Ruth 
looked up at her, a little frightened and sullen 
at first; then as she saw that Aunt Deborah’s 
face was pale, that she looked as if she had been 
crying and was nearly ready to cry again, the 
little girl’s heart softened, and she ran toward 
her aunt, saying : 

“ Oh, Aunt Deborah! I am sorry I spoke 
rudely to you. And when I said I did not like 
you it was only because I was cross and so un¬ 
happy about Hero. I do like you, truly I do. 
And, oh I I did not think about General Howe 
being our enemy ; or that I would spoil Mother’s 
pretty gown. I only thought about Hero.” 
And now Ruth was sobbing, and Aunt Deb¬ 
orah^ arm was about her. 

But for a moment Aunt Deborah made no 
response; then she said : 

“ Dear child, thee has given me happiness 


OF OLD PHILADELPHIA 47 

again. And now let us both do our best until 
thy mother returns. But thee knows that it is 
right for thee to decide if thee should not be 
punished in some way, so that in future thee 
will remember not to lose thy temper, to re¬ 
member thy manners; and above all not to 
stoop to deceit to gain thy wishes.” 

Aunt Deborah smiled happily at her little 
niece as she finished, as if quite sure that Ruth 
would welcome her suggestion. 

Ruth smiled in response. She began to think 
it would be rather fine to decide on her own 
punishment, and resolved it should be even 
more severe than any Aunt Deborah would in¬ 
flict. 

“ Yes, Aunt Deborah, I will stay up-stairs all 
day. And I will eat only porridge for my 
dinner and supper. I will not 'call from the 
window, and I will knit; and not even play 
with Cecilia,” she said eagerly. 

“ Very well, dear child. But beside these 
things thee must say over to thyself the reason 
for thy punishment. Say to thyself: 1 Not again 
will I be rude or unkind, not again will I be 
thoughtless of my behavior/ ” said Aunt Deb¬ 
orah approvingly. 


A LITTLE MAID 


48 

There was a loud knock at the front door, and 
Aunt Deborah hurried away to answer it. In a 
moment Ruth heard a joyous bark. 

“ It’s Hero! It’s Hero ! ” she exclaimed, 
running toward the door. But with her hand 
on the latch she stopped suddenly. She had 
promised that she would not leave the room that 
day. She had set her own punishment for rude¬ 
ness, and for the thoughtlessness that had per¬ 
haps ruined her mother's dress. 

“Oh! I wish I hadn’t dressed up,” she 
thought, as she turned slowly away from the 
door, thinking of Hero looking wistfully about 
for his little mistress. She knew that Aunt 
Deborah would be kind to him, but not to see 
Hero after he had been missing so long was a 
real punishment for the little girl, and she went 
back to the window and stood looking out wish¬ 
ing that for a punishment she had thought of 
something beside staying in her room all day. 

As she looked out she saw that Gilbert was 
still in his garden, that Winifred was beside 
him, and that they were both making motions 
for her to open the window. 

She shook her head soberly. She could see 
that Winifred was greatly excited about some- 


OF OLD PHILADELPHIA 49 

thing, and was talking eagerly to her brother. 
They both looked up at Ruth’s window and 
again motioned with waving arms for her to 
open it. After a few moments they seemed to 
realize that she had, for some reason they could 
not imagine, been forbidden to; and with a 
good-bye signal they both turned and ran toward 
the house. 

“ I do wonder what they wanted to tell me,” 
thought Ruth. “ Oh, dear I It is dreadful to 
stay up here when Hero is home, and when 
Winifred and Gilbert have a secret.” She be¬ 
gan to realize that she had set herself no light 
punishment. 

“ But it wouldn’t be a punishment if I were 
enjoying it,” she finally decided, and getting 
the half-finished sock from her knitting bag, 
she drew a small rocking-chair to the center of 
the room, seated herself and began resolutely to 
knit. 

Now and then she could hear sounds from the 
rooms below ; and once Ruth dropped her knit¬ 
ting and started toward the door, for she had 
heard Hero’s plaintive whine as he waited for 
admittance. Then had come Aunt Deborah’s 
voice calling him away sternly; and Ruth 


A LITTLE MAID 


5° 

picked up her knitting, resolved to keep exactly 
to her promise. She wondered if Major AndiA 
had sent Hero home in charge of “ Dick,” the 
smiling young soldier who had spoken to her on 
General Howe's door-steps. But most of all her 
thoughts centered about Winifred and Gilbert. 

She heard the clock strike eleven, and real¬ 
ized that she was very hungry ; and that an 
hour was a long time to wait before Aunt Deb¬ 
orah would bring her bowl of porridge. A 
shadow darkened the window, and she looked 
up with startled eyes to see Winifred's face 
pressed against the glass. 

Ruth ran to the window. “ How did you get 
up here? " she questioned in wonder. 

“ Open the window, quick I " Winifred re¬ 
sponded in an anxious whisper. “ The ladder 
wiggles about, and somebody may see me." 

Ruth opened the window and Winifred 
crawled in, and suddenly the ladder disap¬ 
peared. 

“ It's Gilbert. He promised to take it down 
as soon as I got in. What is the matter, Ruth ? 
Has Aunt Deborah made you stay up-stairs? 
Did you know Hero was home ? A soldier 
brought him." While Winifred talked she 


OF OLD PHILADELPHIA 51 

looked at Ruth anxiously, as if to make sure 
that nothing had really befallen her friend. 

Ruth was smiling with delight at her unex¬ 
pected visitor. 

“ Oh, Winifred! You were splendid to 
come up the ladder. I’m staying up-stairs to 
punish myself. I was rude to Aunt Deborah ; 
and last night I dressed up in my mother’s best 
dress and went to see General Howe! ” Ruth 
answered. 

Winifred was too surprised to reply, and 
Ruth went on telling of her sudden decision, 
and of the adventures that followed, and con¬ 
cluded with : “ And of course I ought not to 
have dressed up, and I ought not to have run 
away. So now I am staying up-stairs all day, 
and all I am to have to eat is porridge and milk. 
I decided it myself,” she concluded, not a little 
pleased at the thought. 

“ Why, Ruth Pennell I” exclaimed Winifred 
admiringly. “ I don’t know which is the most 
wonderful, your going to see General Howe, or 
your deciding to punish yourself. Begin at the 
time you reached the General’s house and tell 
me everything up to now.” 

Ruth was quite ready to do this, and the two 


A LITTLE MAID 


52 

little friends seated themselves on the window- 
seat, Winifred listening admiringly while Ruth 
told over the story of the previous night. She 
had forgotten all about punishment; but a noise 
in the hallway and the sound of the clock strik¬ 
ing the hour of noon made her stop suddenly in 
her whispered recital. “ It’s Aunt Deborah! 
Winifred, hide, quick ! Under the bed,” she 
said, at the same moment giving Winifred a 
little push. 

Aunt Deborah came in smiling and unsus¬ 
picious, with a well-filled bowl of porridge and 
a generous pitcher of milk on the tray. It had 
been a happy morning for Aunt Deborah. Hero 
was safe at home, none the worse for his ad¬ 
ventures ; and, best of all, Ruth of her own 
accord had declared herself to blame, and de¬ 
cided that her faults should be punished. It 
seemed to Aunt Deborah that after this she and 
her little niece would have no more misunder¬ 
standings. She thought it a fine thing that 
Ruth wished to stay by herself all that sunny 
spring day; and she was sure it was no light 
punishment. 


CHAPTER VI 


A DIFFICULT DAY 

Aunt Debokah did not linger to talk with 
her little niece, for it was a part of her belief 
that idle talk was unwise. The door had hardly 
closed behind her when Winifred's head ap¬ 
peared from under the chintz valance of the 
bed, and she looked cautiously about. 

“Has she gone?" she asked in a cautious 
whisper. 

Ruth nodded, and Winifred now crawled out 
from her hiding-place. 

“ I'm glad she didn't see me, Ruth. For 
when I came to the door this morning she said 
you could not see any one to-day; so I thought 
you were being punished, and I was bound to see 
you. Oh, Ruth! are you to have nothing 
but porridge ? " and Winifred looked at Ruth's 
tray as if she thought such a dinner would be 
punishment enough for a much greater offense. 

“ I chose it! I said I would eat only por- 
53 


A LITTLE MAID 


54 

ridge,” responded Ruth, beginning to think 
that perhaps she had been more severe with 
herself than had been really necessary ; and she 
wondered, with a little regretful sigh, if Aunt 
Deborah was having stewed oysters for dinner; 
for Ruth was sure that nothing could taste 
better than oysters. 

“ I had to see you, Ruth; and it was Gilbert 
who thought of the ladder. He has written a 
play, and you are to take part in it, and so am 
I,” continued Winifred, who had nearly for¬ 
gotten her own important news in listening to 
Ruth’s surprising story. 

“ * A play ’ ? ” echoed Ruth questioningly, 
hardly understanding her friend’s meaning. 

“ Yes ! Yes ! Don’t you know that the Eng¬ 
lish soldiers give plays in the Southwark The¬ 
ater? They dress up and make believe, just as 
you did last night,” Winifred explained, “ and 
Gilbert’s play is like that.” 

“ Then I don’t want to,” Ruth declared. “ It’s 
horrid pretending to be somebody besides your¬ 
self.” 

“Oh, Ruth! This isn’t like what you did. 
It’s all about Washington and Lafayette,” Wini¬ 
fred explained eagerly, “ and our pony is to be 


OF OLD PHILADELPHIA 55 

in it, and so is Hero. It’s splendid ; truly it is, 
Ruth; and Gilbert want3 you to come and 
rehearse this afternoon, in our stable. If you 
are punishing yourself you can come if you 
wish to.” 

Ruth shook her head. 

“ No, I can’t. Don’t you see I can’t, Wini¬ 
fred ? I promised just as much as if somebody 
else had made me. I’ll have to stay in this 
room all day, because I told Aunt Deborah that 
I would.” 

Winifred jumped up quickly. “ Then I must 
go right home, for Gilbert said that if you 
couldn’t take part we’d try and get Betty Hast¬ 
ings. She’s older and taller than you, anyway, 
so she’d look more like Lafayette,” she said, 
moving toward the door. 

Betty Hastings lived just around the corner 
on Chestnut Street. She was twelve years old. 
She was tall for her age, and her hair was brown 
and very curly. She did not often play with 
the younger girls. 

“Lafayette? Was I to be Lafayette in the 
play?” asked Ruth. “ Oh, Winifred! Ask 
Gilbert to wait. I’ll come over first thing to¬ 
morrow morning. You tell him I have to stay 


A LITTLE MAID 


5 6 

up here to-day. Don’t ask Betty i ” she pleaded, 
and Winifred finally agreed to try and persuade 
her brother to wait until the following morning 
before asking Betty. 

'‘You see, it’s to be a birthday surprise for 
Mother; and her birthday is a week from to¬ 
day, so there isn’t much time,” Winifred ex¬ 
plained, as she started toward the door. 

“ Winifred ! Where are you going ? ” Ruth 
whispered in alarm ; and Winifred laughed at 
her friend’s surprise to see her about to walk 
boldly from the room. 

“ I can go down-stairs so your aunt won’t 
know it, and open the front door just as easy, 
and walk right out. She is in the kitchen and 
won’t hear me,” Winifred answered; and with 
a warning word to be sure and be at the stable 
at nine o’clock the next morning, the little girl 
opened the door cautiously and disappeared. 

After Winifred had gone Ruth ate her por¬ 
ridge. She began to think of Gilbert’s play, and 
of the fun it would be to take the part of the 
brave young Frenchman. She walked about 
the room, looked at Cecilia and the half-fin¬ 
ished chair, and sighed deeply at the thought 
that she might be rehearsing with Winifred and 


OF OLD PHILADELPHIA 57 

Gilbert, the pony and Hero, instead of staying 
alone in her room. 

At last she remembered her knitting, and 
took it up rather reluctantly. “ I do wish I 
hadn’t worn Mother’s dress,” she thought. And 
she was conscious of a little uncomfortable feel¬ 
ing as to Winifred’s visit after Aunt Deborah’s 
refusal to admit her. 

“ But I didn’t ask her to come, or help her,” 
she finally decided ; although she began to wish 
that her friend had waited to tell her the great 
news until the next day and so avoided deceiv¬ 
ing Aunt Deborah. 

But at last the long afternoon ended ; and 
when the clock struck six there was a joyous 
bark just outside Ruth’s door, and Aunt Deb¬ 
orah opened it for Hero to come bounding in. 
He had so much to tell his little mistress, with 
barks and jumps, and faithful pleading eyes, 
that it was some little time before Aunt Deb¬ 
orah found a chance to speak. 

“ Thee had best come down to the dining-room 
and have supper with me. There are creamed 
oysters and toast and a bit of jelly. I think 
thee does not need porridge for another meal to¬ 
day,” she said smilingly. 


58 


A LITTLE MAID 


“ I know I’ll remember about Mother’s dress. 
It has been hard to stay up here all day,” Ruth 
answered, glad indeed that her time of punish¬ 
ment was over. 

41 But Aunt Deborah doesn’t know just how 
hard it was,” she thought as she followed her 
aunt down the stairs, with Hero close beside 
her, thinking over Winifred’s great news. 

As she took her usual place at the table she 
was glad that she had not taken Winifred’s sug¬ 
gestion to shorten her hours of solitude. The 
steaming oysters sent out an appetizing odor, 
the toast was crisp and golden, and the tumbler 
of amber-colored jelly seemed to reflect the light 
of the candles in their tall brass candlesticks 
which stood at each end of the table. 

“ I have good news for thee, Ruth,” said Aunt 
Deborah, smiling at her across the table. “ I 
have word that thy mother will return early 
the coming week.” 

Ruth gave an exclamation of delight. 

“ Oh, Aunt Deborah! What a lot of nice 
things happen all together,” she said. “ You 
won’t go back to Barren Hill when she comes, 
will you?” For Ruth began to realize that, even 
with her dear mother safe at home once more, 


OF OLD PHILADELPHIA 59 

she would miss the kind aunt who had been so 
unfailingly patient. 

It was evident that Aunt Deborah was greatly 
pleased. Her brown eyes shone, and Ruth sud¬ 
denly discovered the amazing fact that there 
was a dimple in Aunt Deborah’s right cheek. 

“ Tis indeed pleasant that thou should wish 
me to stay ; but I fear my house at Barren Hill 
needs its mistress. To-morrow is the first of 
April, and I must see about planting my garden 
as soon as possible. Perhaps thy mother will 
let thee come for a visit before long,” she re¬ 
ponded. “ That is, if the English General will 
take such a great risk as to give a small maid 
permission to leave the city,” for no one could 
leave Philadelphia at that time without a writ¬ 
ten permission from an English officer. 

Ruth was quite sure that she should like to 
visit Barren Hill. She knew it was half-way to 
Valley Forge, where the American soldiers had 
passed a dreary winter, suffering from cold and 
hunger, while their enemies had enjoyed the 
comforts of American homes in Philadelphia. 
But now that spring had come the American 
people were more hopeful; they were sure their 
army would soon drive the enemy from the city. 


6 o 


A LITTLE MAID 


The people of little settlements like Barren Hill 
managed to carry food and clothing to the 
American soldiers. Aunt Deborah, just before 
coming to Philadelphia, had carried a treasured 
store of honey to Washington's headquarters, as 
well as clothing and food for Ruth's father. 

Although Aunt Deborah was a Quaker she 
was sure of the righteousness of America's war 
against oppression. 

“ Perhaps I could see my father if I go to 
visit you, Aunt Deborah," said Ruth hope¬ 
fully. 

But Aunt Deborah could give no assurance as 
to this. She knew that any day might see 
Washington’s army moving from its winter 
quarters. 

“ Thee could help me with the garden," she 
responded. “ The bees will soon be about their 
work now; and there are many things in the 
country for a small maid to find pleasure in." 

“ Did you ever see Lafayette, Aunt Deborah ? " 
Ruth asked. 

“ Why, child ! Did not thy mother tell thee ? 
He stopped at my door one day. He was on 
horseback, and only two soldiers with him. 
They had ridden out from camp to make sure 


OF OLD PHILADELPHIA 61 


no English spies were about, and he stopped to 
ask for a cup of water. He was pleased to take 
milk instead. Thee shall see the very cup from 
which he drank, Ruth. It was one of the pink 
lustre cups, and I put it apart from the others. 
Some day thee shall have it for thy own,” said 
Aunt Deborah, smiling at Ruth’s evident de¬ 
light. 

As Ruth listened she resolved that nothing 
should prevent her from visiting Aunt Deborah. 
Perhaps she might see Lafayette as well as her 
dear father. Perhaps the young Frenchman 
might again call at Aunt Deborah’s door, and 
she, Ruth Pennell, hand him the pink lustre 
cup filled with milk. 

Aunt Deborah’s voice interrupted these pleas¬ 
ant day-dreams. 

|L“Now, Ruth, thee may help me wash the 
dishes ; and we will make sure that Hero is 
safely indoors,” she said. 

“ Yes, indeed. Oh ! Aunt Deborah, this has 
been a splendid day, after all,” the little girl 
responded, thinking of Hero safe at home, of 
Winifred’s visit, and of the pink lustre cup that 
some day would be her own. 


CHAPTER VII 


Gilbert’s play 

Ruth was up in good season the next morn¬ 
ing, and Aunt Deborah was quite willing for 
her little niece to take Hero for a morning call 
on Winifred; and it was not yet nine o’clock 
when Ruth pushed open the gate that led from 
the alley into the Merrills’ garden. 

The stable stood beside this gate, and was 
some distance from the house. Fluff, the pony, 
had a fine box stall with a window looking into 
the garden. Fluff belonged to Gilbert; but 
Gilbert had grown so tall that he thought the 
pony too small for his use, and on Winifred’s 
last birthday had given her all right and title 
to the little gray pony, whose thick mane and 
plume-like tail had made the name “ Fluff” 
most appropriate. 

The stable was nearly hidden from the house 
by shrubs and trees, and Gilbert and Winifred 
found it a fine play-house. Ruth often wished 
62 


OF OLD PHILADELPHIA 63 

that there was a stable in her father's garden, 
and that she had a pony exactly like Fluff. 

At the sound of Hero’s bark Winifred and 
Gilbert both appeared in the doorway of the 
stable, and close behind them stood Betty Hast¬ 
ings. Ruth stood still with a questioning look 
at Winifred. She was sure that Gilbert had 
asked Betty to take the part of Lafayette, and 
for a moment she was tempted to turn away 
without a word. But before she could act on 
this impulse there was a chorus of welcoming 
greetings for her and for Hero, and Winifred 
came running to meet her. 

“ Betty is going to take the part of Lord 
Cornwallis ! ” Winifred exclaimed, as she put 
her arm about Ruth and led her to the stable. 
“ Gilbert thinks you were splendid to go straight 
to General Howe and ask for Hero,” she added, 
“and Betty wants to hear just what Major 
Andre said,” so Ruth, instead of finding her¬ 
self entirely supplanted by Betty, as she had for 
a moment feared, was surrounded by the eager 
interest and attention of the little group. It 
seemed to Ruth that she had never before 
known how nice Betty Hastings really was. 
The older girl was evidently greatly impressed 


A LITTLE MAID 


64 

by the fact that Ruth had sat next to the Eng¬ 
lish General at his dinner table. 

“ I wish I could have been you, Ruth/’ she 
declared admiringly. 

“ It was all right for Ruth to ask for her dog,” 
Gilbert interrupted, “ but I wouldn’t have sat 
down at General Howe’s table. Not much I 
wouldn’t.” 

“ But Major Andr§ lifted me up. I didn’t do 
it myself,” replied Ruth, suddenly ashamed 
that she had entirely forgotten that the English 
officers were her enemies, and had even been 
rather pleased that no other little girl in Phila¬ 
delphia could say that she had sat at the dinner 
table of the great English General. 

“ And you are no better than a Tory, Betty 
Hastings,” Gilbert continued, looking disap¬ 
provingly toward brown-eyed Betty. “ You said 
a little while ago that you would rather be Lord 
Cornwallis than Washington.” 

“ Well, what if I did? I only meant in your 
play ; because the English uniform is fine. All 
scarlet and gold,” Betty explained. She was 
smiling, and evidently did not care at all if 
Gilbert did not approve of her. “ Come on and 
tell us what your play is about,” she added. 


OF OLD PHILADELPHIA 65 

Gilbert’s frown vanished. He drew a roll of 
paper from his pocket; and, looking soberly at 
his companions, said: 

“ The name of my play is * America Defeats 
the Foe.’ It is in two acts. The first act is 
Lord Cornwallis, that’s you, Betty, on his knees 
asking Washington to spare his life. The second 
act is Washington and Lafayette and their 
triumphant army, Winifred is the army, march¬ 
ing into Philadelphia.” 

(< Um-m,” said Betty slowly, “what does 
Washington say when Lord Cornwallis asks 
him to spare his life ? ” 

“I don’t just know yet,” Gilbert admitted. 
“ I thought I’d wait until we rehearsed.” 

“ You said Fluff and Hero were to have 
parts,” Winifred reminded him, a little anx¬ 
iously. 

“ What does Lafayette wear? ” asked Ruth. 

Gilbert’s face flushed : “ Just like girls, want¬ 
ing to know everything before I've had time to 
think. But I can tell you one thing, we’ll have 
to plan our costumes now.” 

“ Mine is all planned,” said Betty; “ you 
know there is an English officer lodging at our 
house, and I’ll borrow his scarlet coat.” 


66 


A LITTLE MAID 


“ My Aunt Deborah has seen Lafayette,” Ruth 
announced proudly, “ and I’ll ask her to tell me 
just what he wore, and then perhaps I can look 
just like him.” 

Winifred said nothing. Gilbert had already 
told her that he meant to dress up two broom¬ 
sticks as American soldiers, and these were to 
“ march ” on each side of Winifred, with her 
aid and assistance. She was always ready to 
help Gilbert in all his plans, but she was begin¬ 
ning to think that it would be rather a difficult 
task to be a triumphant army; especially as 
Gilbert had told her that she must cheer for 
Washington and Lafayette when they reached 
the “ State House,” whose location he had not 
yet decided on. 

“ Aren’t you going to have any girls or 
women in your play?” asked Betty, apparently 
not greatly pleased with Gilbert’s brief descrip¬ 
tion. “I think you ought to have Lady Wash¬ 
ington in a balcony waving her handkerchief, 
when the victorious army enters Philadelphia. 
I could be Lady Washington, because I’ll be all 
through being Lord Cornwallis in the first act,” 
and Betty smiled at her companions as if sure 
they would be greatly pleased by her suggestion. 


OF OLD PHILADELPHIA 67 


“ Why, yes-” began Gilbert, but before he 

could say more a wail from Winifred made them 
all look at her in surprise. 

“ Betty Hastings shan’t be everything ! If 
she’s going to be Lady Washington I won’t 
play. I won’t be an army, anyway,” she sobbed. 

“ Oh ! I don’t care ! ” said Betty good-hu¬ 
moredly. “ I just happened to think of it, that’s 
all. I’d just as soon be the army.” 

It was finally decided that Winifred should be 
Lady Washington, and wave from the top of 
the grain-bin when the triumphant army passed. 
Lafayette was to ride on Fluff, and Gilbert said 
he meant to borrow a horse for George Wash¬ 
ington. Hero was to follow the army. It was 
dinner-time before all these important questions 
were settled; and it was agreed that they would 
meet again the next morning for another re¬ 
hearsal. Gilbert promised to have speeches 
ready for Lafayette and Cornwallis. 

“ The way it is now nobody has anything to 
say but Washington,” Betty had said, and Gil¬ 
bert had agreed that Cornwallis should at least 
say, “ Spare me, noble Washington,” while Lafay¬ 
ette could make some response to Washington’s 
speech, which Betty thought far too long, thank- 



68 A LITTLE MAID 

ing the young Frenchman for his aid to 
America. 

“ I wish Gilbert would let you make up our 
speeches, Betty,” said Ruth, looking up at her 
companion with admiring eyes, as the two girls 
stopped for a moment at Ruth’s door. “ It wasn’t 
any play at all until you told him what to do.” 

“ It will come out all right,” responded Betty. 
“ It’s the dressing up that will be fun. I wish 
we could get Ned Ferris to play the drum and 
march ahead.” 

Ruth agreed that a drummer would make it 
seem more like a triumphant army. 

“ Do you suppose the English officer at your 
house will really lend you his red coat?” ques¬ 
tioned Ruth. 

Betty laughed. “ Of course he will; for he 
won’t know anything about it. ’Tis his best 
coat, and hangs in a closet in the passage near 
his room. He wears it only now and then. I 
shall just borrow it, and then hang it back in the 
closet,” declared Betty. “ Just as you did your 
mother’s dress,” she added quickly, as if half- 
afraid of Ruth’s disapproval, and with a “ good¬ 
bye until to-morrow, Lafayette,” she ran quickly 
down the street. 


OF OLD PHILADELPHIA 69 

Ruth was a little thoughtful as she went into 
the house. She wished that she had told Betty 
that she was sorry about borrowing her mother’s 
dress without permission, and that it would be 
wiser to ask the soldier to lend his coat. Then 
she remembered that Betty was nearly thirteen, 
and of course must know more than a little girl 
only just past ten. 

Aunt Deborah greeted her smilingly. “ I 
have been brushing thy mother’s gown, Ruth. 
’Twas sadly in need of it, and a tear on the side 
breadth. But I have mended it so well that 
Twill hardly be noticed, and sponged and 
pressed the dress until it looks as well as ever,” 
she said. 

Ruth’s face brightened. 

“ Oh I I am so glad, Aunt Deborah. Then 
Mother need not know I wore it, or that I went 
to see General Howe. You will not tell her, 
will you, Aunt Deborah ? ” said Ruth eagerly. 

The smile faded from Aunt Deborah’s face, 
and she turned away from Ruth with a little 
sigh. 

“ No, I will not tell her, Ruth. But thee will 
surely do that thyself,” she answered. 

“ But you say the dress looks as well as ever,” 


A LITTLE MAID 


70 

said Ruth, “ and, oh, Aunt Deborah ! It will 
make Mother feel so bad to know that I was so 
thoughtless,” and Ruth looked pleadingly to¬ 
ward her aunt. 

“ Thee shall settle the matter for thyself, 
Ruth. But I hope thee will tell thy mother,” 
responded Aunt Deborah. But Ruth made no 
reply. 

In the afternoon Winifred came over, and the 
two little girls sat down on the back porch to 
talk over Gilbert’s play. Winifred said that the 
broomsticks could be dressed up in some blue 
coverlets, with cocked hats made from paper, 
and Ruth promised to help Winifred make the 
hats. 

“ Betty is going to borrow her mother’s fine 
silk cape and bonnet for me to wear as Lady 
Washington,” Winifred continued eagerly. 
“ Isn’t Betty splendid to let me have the very 
best part of all, and to get so many nice things 
for us to dress up in ? ” 

“ Will she ask her mother for the cape and 
bonnet?” Ruth questioned. 

“ Of course she will,” declared Winifred, “and 
I have thought of something. We can dress 
Josephine and Cecilia in their best dresses, and 


OF OLD PHILADELPHIA 71 

have them sit beside Lady Washington on the 
top of the grain box.’ 7 

Ruth agreed that such a plan would add to 
the success of Gilbert’s play. 

“ My mother is coming home in a few days,” 
she said when Winifred said that she must go 
home. 

“ Well, I guess she will be proud when you 
tell her that you went to General Howe and 
made him find Hero,” Winifred replied. For 
Winifred was sure that it had been a very coura¬ 
geous act to face the English General 

“ I am not going to tell her a word about it,” 
was Ruth’s reply. 


CHAPTER VIII 


BETTY RUNS AWAY 

The days now passed very quickly for Ruth 
and her friends. Every day Betty Hastings, 
Winifred, Ruth and Gilbert were in the Merrills’ 
garden or stable at work on the costumes for 
“ America Conquers the Foe.” Ned Ferris, a 
boy not much older than Ruth, had promised 
Gilbert to play on his drum, and to march at the 
head of the “army”; he would not need to 
rehearse, so would not come until the day 
decided on for the play. Ned had also offered 
the loan of his brown pony, a much larger 
animal than Fluff, for “ Washington ” to ride ; 
and now Gilbert, Winifred and Ruth were all 
sure that the play would be a success. Betty 
Hastings was not so confident. She had begun 
to fear that it would be no easy matter to borrow 
the scarlet coat without the owner’s knowledge ; 

72 


OF OLD PHILADELPHIA 73 

and she was even more doubtful in regard to 
her mother’s fine cape and bonnet; but she said 
nothing of this to the others. 

If she had known that Gilbert had invited 
her mother, as well as a number of other friends 
of Mrs. Merrill’s, to what he described as “ a 
birthday surprise for my mother,” Betty would 
doubtless have given up her part; but Gilbert 
had asked each guest to keep the invitation a 
secret; and it was probable that a surprise was 
in store for “ Cornwallis ” as well as for Gilbert’s 
mother. 

Mrs. Pennell returned home from German¬ 
town on the very morning of Mrs. Merrill’s 
birthday, and Ruth was so delighted at her 
arrival that she nearly forgot to ask her mother 
to come to the play that afternoon, as Gilbert 
had requested. Gilbert had said that he wished 
Mistress Deborah Farleigh would come with 
Ruth’s mother, but added : “ It isn’t any use to 
ask her, for Quakers don’t believe in plays.” 

“ But this is different; I’m sure she will 
come,” Ruth had responded eagerly ; and had 
been greatly pleased when Aunt Deborah agreed, 
saying that, “ ’Twas surely a patriotic lesson 
that she would like well to see.” 


A LITTLE MAID 


74 

Mrs. Pennell also praised Gilbert’s cleverness, 
and promised to be ready in good season. 
“ Perhaps I had best wear my brown silk to do 
credit to Mrs. Merrill’s birthday party,” she 
said, and wondered why Ruth became so silent 
and looked so sober. For a moment Ruth was 
tempted to tell her mother the whole story of 
her visit to General Howe ; but she resisted the 
impulse. “ It would spoil everything to make 
Mother feel bad the very day she has come 
home,” the little girl assured herself; but she 
no longer felt light-hearted, and when her 
mother patted Hero’s head, and said that she 
knew he had taken good care of everything in 
her absence, Ruth grew even more serious. 

Aunt Deborah was very quiet; but now and 
then her eyes rested on Ruth a little ques- 
tioningly. 

“ I suppose Aunt Deborah is thinking I ought 
to tell Mother,” thought Ruth, and was glad to 
hurry away as soon as they finished dinner, 
saying she must be in good season, as Gilbert 
had set three o’clock as the hour for the arrival 
of his audience. 

“ You must come in through the alley,” Ruth 
reminded her mother and aunt; for Gilbert 


OF OLD PHILADELPHIA 


75 

had decided that the guests were to be a part of 
the surprise for his mother. 

Gilbert was arranging seats for the company 
just inside the door of the stable behind a rope 
stretched from the front to the door of Fluff's 
stall. On the previous day the children had 
made an excursion to Fair Mount, and had 
brought home a quantity of blossoming boughs 
of the white dogwood, branches of pine, and of 
flowering elder, and these were used to make a 
background for the seats intended for the 
guests, to hide a part of the grain-bin, from 
which Lady Washington was to wave, and made 
the stable a very attractive and pleasant place. 
The guests could look through the open door 
into the garden where blue iris, yellow daffodils 
and purple lilacs were already in bloom. 

When Ruth came running to the stable Wini¬ 
fred called out to her from the top of the grain- 
bin : “ Look, Ruth ! Look !” and Ruth stopped 
in the doorway with an exclamation of surprise. 
For there was Winifred wearing Mrs. Hastings’ 
beautiful blue mantle of rich silk, and a bonnet 
with soft blue plumes, and beside her sat two 
other figures that, for a moment, Ruth believed 
to be two strange ladies. Then she realized 


A LITTLE MAID 


76 

that Winifred had “ dressed up 99 bundles of hay 
in two old gowns of her mother’s, with their 
“ heads” crowned by wreaths of leaves and 
flowers. 

Winifred laughed delightedly at Ruth’s as¬ 
tonishment. “ You see, Josephine and Cecilia 
were not tall enough ; and of course Lady 
Washington ought to have company,” she ex¬ 
plained. 

Gilbert, dressed in a blue coat, yellow knee- 
breeches, and with a crimson and white scarf 
pinned across his coat, came to the door. He 
wore a cocked hat, and a wooden sword was 
fastened at his side, and he endeavored to stand 
as tall as possible. 

“ Betty is waiting for you behind the lilac 
bushes,” he said, and vanished ; and Ruth ran 
off to the bunch of lilacs behind the stable where 
Betty, in a scarlet coat that covered her com¬ 
pletely, was holding Fluff’s bridle-rein, and 
close by stood Ned Ferris beside his brown 
pony. 

41 Here is your coat and hat, ‘ Lafayette,’ ” 
said Betty, pointing to a bundle, which Ruth 
hastened to open. 

The coat was of blue velvet. It was one that 


OF OLD PHILADELPHIA 77 

Betty had found in a trunk in her mother’s 
attic. There were ruffles of yellowed lace at the 
wrists, and tarnished gilt buttons and braid on 
the shoulders. This old velvet coat had be¬ 
longed to Betty’s grandfather, and was highly 
valued by her father. But Betty had not asked 
permission to take it. 

Ruth tied up her hair and put on the cocked 
hat that she had helped Winifred make; then 
with Betty’s aid she slipped on the velvet coat, 
and with the addition of a wooden sword which 
Gilbert had made for her she was ready for her 
part in the play. 

The guests all arrived in good season, and 
were escorted to their seats by “ Washington ” 
himself, who then ran to the house to announce 
to his mother that some friends of hers were in 
the garden. 

Mrs. Merrill, greatly to Gilbert’s satisfaction, 
did not seem to notice that he was not dressed 
as usual, and walked beside him down the 
garden path ; as a turn in the path brought 
them in sight of the stable door Gilbert said : 

“This is a birthday surprise for you, Mother. 
It’s a play, and here is the programme,” and he 
handed her a strip of white paper bordered with 


A LITTLE MAID 


78 

a row of stars cut from gilt paper. At the top 
Gilbert had printed : 

“AMERICA CONQUERS TEE FOE ” 

A Play 
by 

Gilbert Merrill 
For Mothers Birthday 

ACT FIRST 

Cornwallis Begs For Mercy 

Cornwallis . B. Hastings 

Washington .... G. Merrill 

ACT SECOND 

Washington's Triumphant Army Enters 
Philadelphia 

Washington - - - G. Merrill 

Lafayette . R. Pennell 

Lady Washington - Miss Winif red Merrill 

Army 

Band . 

Mrs. Merrill read the programme admiringly. 
“It is indeed a wonderful birthday surprise, 
my dear boy,” she said smilingly, “ and I am 
proud of you,” and she hurried forward to greet 
and welcome her friends, while Gilbert ran to 


OF OLD PHILADELPHIA 79 

summon “ Cornwallis ” to be ready for the first 
aet. 

An old horse-blanket, suspended from the 
hay-loft in the rear of the stable, served as a 
curtain behind which knelt Betty in the scarlet 
coat. Gilbert now took his place beside her, 
trying to look stern and noble. At Gilbert’s 
whistle Winifred, who was in the hay-loft, was 
to pull up the blanket by the long strings that 
Gilbert had skilfully arranged. 

The whistle sounded clearly. Up rose the 
curtain. There was an approving murmur from 
the audience at the sight of “ Cornwallis ” on his 
knees. 

“ Spare me, noble Washington ! ” said Betty, 
but in rather a feeble voice. 

Washington’s right hand was stretched over 
the head of his conquered foe. 

“ Arise, Cornwallis. Flee for your life. My 
army is at hand,” responded Washington ; and 
Betty, stumbling a little, escaped from the rear 
door, while Washington marched out to meet 
his army, and the audience applauded. 

Betty’s mother had noticed the red coat, and 
wondered what English soldier had consented 
to lend it for such a purpose. It did not occur 


8 o 


A LITTLE MAID 


to her that Betty had taken it from their 
lodger’s closet. 

When Betty had entered the stable by the 
rear door and knelt according to Washington’s 
directions she could hear the murmur of voices. 

“ Who is with your mother ? ” she whispered 
to “ Washington/’ but there had been no time 
to answer, and Betty found herself facing not 
only Gilbert’s mother but a dozen other ladies 
of whom her mother was one ; and it was a very 
anxious and troubled Betty who joined the little 
group behind the lilac bushes and, slipping off 
the red coat, put on an old coat and hat belong¬ 
ing to Gilbert’s father, and with the dressed up 
broomsticks, took her place behind Fluff as the 
“ Army.” 

Ned Ferris sounded a measured “ rat-a-tat-tat ” 
on his drum and strode toward the entrance to 
the stable, followed by Washington and Lafay¬ 
ette, the “ Army,” and the docile Hero. Lady 
Washington scrambled from the hay-loft to the 
top of the grain-bin, drew her fine silk mantle 
about her, and smiled graciously down upon the 
assembled guests. Mrs. Hastings looked up at 
her. “ For pity’s sake ! ” her seatmate heard 
her murmur, “ my best mantle and bonnet 1 ” 


OF OLD PHILADELPHIA 81 


Bat at that moment came the quick beat of a 
drum. Washington's pony, a little annoyed 
and nervous, and Fluff, determined to reach his 
stall as quickly as possible, although “ Lafay¬ 
ette ” endeavored to guide him in the appointed 
course, entered the stable. 

“ Washington ” drew rein beneath the grain- 
bin and lifted his hat to Lady Washington, who 
leaned forward to wave in response; but unfor¬ 
tunately her bonnet strings were not fastened, 
and the fine bonnet with its blue plumes fell 
from her head and went tumbling down almost 
on Hero's brown head. In a second the dog 
had seized it, and forgetting his part in the pro¬ 
cession, jumped this way and that, shaking this 
new plaything with delighted satisfaction. 

Mrs. Hastings kept her seat resolutely. It 
would have been an easy matter to have stepped 
from her seat and rescued the bonnet. But 
Mrs. Hastings knew that such a movement on 
her part would have brought Gilbert's play to 
an untimely end, and spoiled the pleasure of all 
the guests, as well as of the children who took 
part. So she did not move, even when Hero 
fled out into the garden with the plumes grasped 
in his teeth. Betty, Buth and Winifred never 


82 


A LITTLE MAID 


forgot that moment, nor the fact that Mrs. 
Hastings had apparently not seen what hap¬ 
pened. Even in her fright at the results of her 
“ borrowing ” Betty Hastings was very proud of 
her mother. 

The drummer played on. The two ponies 
were swung around face to face ; Washington 
and Lafayette clasped hands for a moment; 
then side by side, with drum playing, but with 
a silent army, the little procession vanished 
through the rear door. 

Gilbert was delighted with his success. It 
seemed to him that everything had gone very 
well, and he was especially grateful to Betty 
Hastings for securing the English officer's coat. 

But Betty, having seen the ruin of the bonnet, 
had suddenly realized that it was a serious mat¬ 
ter to take the belongings of other people with¬ 
out their permission ; and her first thought was 
of the officer’s coat. Whatever happened she 
must return that coat to the closet from which 
she had taken it as soon as possible. Then she 
would try and explain to her mother that she 
had not meant any harm should befall the bor¬ 
rowed articles. So, grasping the red coat, Betty 
opened the door into the alley and started off as 


OF OLD PHILADELPHIA 83 

fast as she could go ; while Ruth, still wearing 
the fine velvet coat, crouched down behind the 
lilac bushes, too unhappy to care if the play 
had been a success or not; for as “ Lafayette ” 
faced the audience she had seen that her mother 
was wearing the brown silk dress. 


CHAPTER IX 


betty’s adventure 

“ Come, Ruth, Mistress Hastings is waiting for 
thy fine velvet coat,” and Ruth looked up to 
see Aunt Deborah smiling down upon her; and 
in a moment the little girl was clinging to 
Aunt Deborah’s arm, and asking anxiously : 

“ Did Mother find the mended place in her 
dress? Oh, Aunt Deborah! I do wish I had 
told her all about it! ” 

“ Slip off the coat, dear child, and run and 
tell her now,” said Aunt Deborah, and in a mo¬ 
ment Ruth was running across the garden to 
where her mother was standing with Mrs. Mer¬ 
rill. Mrs. Pennell smiled down at her little 
daughter, and clasping the warm little hand in 
her own turned toward the gate. 

In a moment Ruth was in the midst of her 
story, and Mrs. Pennell listened without a word 
until Ruth, breathless and almost in tears, fin¬ 
ished by saying : 

“I didn’t think it would hurt the dress, 
84 


OF OLD PHILADELPHIA 85 

Mother ! I’m so sorry. And I am sorry I 
didn’t tell you the moment you got home.” 

Ruth felt her hand clasped a little more 
closely at this ; but her mother made no response 
until they were in Ruth’s pleasant chamber. 
Then Mrs. Pennell drew her little girl down be¬ 
side her on the broad window-seat; and lean¬ 
ing her head against her mother’s shoulder 
Ruth told of the day she had stayed up-stairs 
as a punishment for her thoughtlessness. 

“ Mother, you haven’t said a word ! ” Ruth 
finally exclaimed, looking up anxiously. “ Are 
you ashamed of me? ” 

“ Why, I think I am rather proud of my little 
daughter,” was the smiling response. “ You set 
your own punishment, and I know you will 
stop and think when next you plan such a 
masquerade party. My dress, it seems, is but 
little the worse, after all; and Hero is well 
worth some sacrifice. Perhaps if you had not 
been 1 dressed up ’ you would not have been 
admitted to General Howe’s house, and might 
not have succeeded in rescuing Hero,” said Mrs. 
Pennell, stooping down to kiss her little girl’s 
flushed cheek. 

“ Oh, Mother I I do love you,” exclaimed 


86 


A LITTLE MAID 


the happy child. “ I’ll never be afraid to tell 
you everything.” 

11 Of coarse you will tell me everything. 
That is what mothers are for,” rejoined Mrs. 
Pennell. “ And now I will take off my silk 
gown, and you had best smooth your hair and 
make yourself tidy for supper.” 

“ That sounds like Aunt Deborah,” said Ruth 
laughingly. But as she obeyed her mother’s 
suggestion she thought happily that now 
Mother was at home everything was sure to go 
smoothly. 

When Gilbert’s play was over Mrs. Hastings, 
although sadly troubled over Betty’s “ borrow¬ 
ings,” and the ruin of her pretty bonnet, com¬ 
plimented Gilbert and Winifred on the success 
of the play; and not until she had chatted for a 
few moments with Mrs. Merrill did she go to 
rescue her valued mantle and the treasured 
velvet coat. She hoped the English officer’s 
coat was none the worse for its part in the play ; 
and, like Betty, she hoped to return it before it 
was missed by its rightful owner; for it would 
be no easy matter to explain why it had been 
borrowed, and she knew its loss would make 
serious trouble. 


OF OLD PHILADELPHIA 87 

She noticed that her mantle was dusty and 
wrinkled, and that the lace on the velvet coat 
was torn. The scarlet coat, however, was not 
to be found, and Betty had also disappeared. 

Deciding that she would find her little 
daughter and the coat safely at home Mrs. 
Hastings bade her friends good-bye and started 
for her walk home. But she did not find Betty 
there. Supper time came, and still no Betty. 
A servant was sent to Mrs. Merrill's to inquire 
for the little girl, but came hurrying back with 
the tidings that Betty had not been seen since 
the end of the play. 

Mrs. Merrill now looked through every room, 
but Betty was not to be found. She inquired 
at the homes of her neighbors, but no one had 
seen the little girl. 

The April twilight deepened to dusk ; the stars 
shone out and found Mrs. Hastings anxious and 
troubled, for she could find no trace of Betty. 

When Betty ran down the alley she had 
thought it would be an easy matter to reach 
home with the red coat; but she had forgotten 
that Philadelphia was full of the King’s soldiers, 
and that a bareheaded little girl racing down 
the street with the coat of an English officer 


88 


A LITTLE MAID 


over her arm would not escape notice; and she 
had only reached Second Street when a passing 
soldier called to her. His call only made her 
run the faster, and the soldier sped after her. 
If Betty had stopped at once, told her own 
name and address, and the name of the owner 
of the coat, the soldier would doubtless have 
taken her directly home and made sure that she 
had told him the truth, and it is probable that 
her troubles would have been at an end. But 
Betty was now too frightened to think clearly. 
She did not even know the direction in which 
she ran was straight away from her home. The 
English soldier ran clumsily, and Betty, turning 
quickly into another street, soon distanced him ; 
but only to run straight into another soldier, 
who seized her firmly by both arms, swung her 
about, and without a word marched her down 
the street. 

“ Making off with an officer’s coat,” he said, 
after what seemed a very long time to the 
frightened girl. “ What’s your name ? ” 

Betty made no response. She resolved that 
no one should ever know that Betty Hastings 
had been suspected of such a dreadful thing as 
taking what she had no right to take. 


OF OLD PHILADELPHIA 89 

“ Won’t speak, eh? Well, I’ll take you to 
Captain De Lancy and see what he has to say 
to you," said the soldier, and the silent little 
girl, still holding the scarlet coat, was led down 
one street after another until she saw the shin¬ 
ing waters of the Schuylkill River before her, 
and the soldier led her up the steps of an old 
stone house whose garden ran down to the river. 
The soldier was evidently familiar with the 
house, for he pushed open the door and led 
Betty into a big pleasant room, and motioned 
toward a comfortable chair. 

“ You can sit there until the captain comes 
in; and you had best tell me your name. 
’Twill do you no good to sulk,’’ he said, taking 
the coat from her reluctant grasp. But Betty 
only set her lips more firmly. She resolved not 
to speak, no matter what might befall her. 

“ Very well, Miss. I’ll leave you to find your 
tongue,’’ said the soldier, laying the coat care¬ 
fully over a chair and leaving the room. Betty 
heard him turn the key in the lock. She was 
tired, and leaned back in the cushioned chair, 
hardly realizing what had befallen her. She 
could hear steps now and then outside the door, 
and every moment expected that it would open 


A LITTLE MAID 


90 

and the captain of whom the soldier had spoken 
would appear. 

But the room grew shadowy in the deepening 
twilight and no one came near. Betty’s thoughts 
flew homeward to the candle-lit dining-room 
where Dinah, the Hastings’ colored servant, 
would be spreading the table for supper, and 
Betty realized that she was very hungry. 

She left her seat and tiptoed toward a long 
window at the further end of the room. The 
window looked out into the garden, and Betty 
instantly realized that it swung in on hinges and 
was not fastened, and that it would be an easy 
matter to let herself down to the ground. 

“ I must take the coat,” she thought, and 
crept back to the chair where the scarlet coat 
lay. In a moment she was back at the window 
and had dropped the coat to the ground; and 
now, grasping the window sill with both hands, 
she let herself carefully down. Picking up the 
coat, and keeping close in the shadow of the 
house, Betty made her way until she was near 
the door through which she had entered the 
house. She went very carefully, peering ahead 
into the shadows, and listening intently for any 
sound that might warn her that her flight had 


OF OLD PHILADELPHIA 


9 1 

been discovered. But she heard no sound, and 
at last she reached the road. 

“ It is too dark for any one to know what 
color the coat is now/' she thought, as she 
hurried along. 

Betty realized that she was a long distance 
from home, but she was sure that she could soon 
find her way to some familiar street and then 
it would be an easy matter to reach home. Now 
and then she passed groups of people homeward 
bound, or English soldiers sauntering along the 
street, and then turning a corner she gave a 
little exclamation of delight, for there, close at 
hand, were the brick walls of Christ Church, its 
graceful spire rising against the clear April sky. 
And now home was near at hand and Betty 
quickened her pace. She had almost forgotten 
her mother's ruined bonnet and the fact that 
she had no excuse to give for borrowing the 
things for Gilbert’s play without permission. 
All she could think of was the fact that she was 
in sight of home. She ran up the steps and the 
door opened as if by magic, and Betty’s mother 
clasped her little girl, scarlet coat and all, in her 
welcoming arms. 


CHAPTER X 

THE LOST PROGRAMME 

The scarlet coat, after being carefully brushed 
and pressed, was returned to its place in the 
closet; and its owner never knew or imagined 
the part it had taken in Gilbert’s play. The 
soldier who had locked Betty into Captain De 
Lancy’s room, and returned to find that the 
silent little captive had outwitted him and made 
her escape, decided that it was best to keep the 
affair to himself, and say nothing about a little 
girl with an officer’s coat for which she would 
not account. 

Ruth and Winifred came early the next 
morning to make sure that Betty was safe at 
home, and listened eagerly to the story of her 
adventure. 

“ Do you suppose you could find the way back 
to the stone house?” questioned Ruth. 

“ Yes, I am sure I could,” responded Betty; 

92 


OF OLD PHILADELPHIA 93 

but she did not suggest, as Ruth hoped, that 
they should all make an excursion to the house 
by the river. In fact, Winifred and Ruth both 
agreed on their way home that Betty seemed 
very sober. And it was true that Betty was 
more quiet than usual for several days; for she 
realized that she had had a narrow escape from 
a serious punishment. Nor could she forget the 
pretty plumed bonnet that Hero had so gaily 
destroyed. The fact that her mother did not 
speak of the bonnet only made Betty the more 
repentant. She and Ruth had both resolved 
that they would not again take for granted that 
they could use other people's property without 
permission. 

“ Aunt Deborah is going home to Barren Hill 
to-morrow," said Ruth, as she and Winifred 
came near home ; “ Farmer Withely is to call for 
her. You know he brings in butter and cheese 
from his farm every Thursday, and Aunt Deb¬ 
orah will ride home in his wagon. I wish I 
were going with her." 

“ Oh, Ruth Pennell!" said Winifred re¬ 
proachfully. 

“ Well, I do. Barren Hill is half-way to 
Valley Forge, and perhaps I could see my 


A LITTLE MAID 


94 

father. And, Winifred I One day Lafayette 
stopped at Aunt Deborah’s door! Perhaps I 
might see him ; perhaps he might ask me to 
carry a message for him,” said Ruth eagerly. 

“ Little girls can’t carry war messages,” Wini¬ 
fred rejoined confidently. “ You are just like 
Gilbert, always wishing you could do something 
for Lafayette. I don’t see why. I would rather 
help Washington.” 

“ It’s because Lafayette came ’way from 
France,” Ruth replied, “and, anyway, I am go¬ 
ing to Barren Hill. Mother says that I may go 
next month.” 

“ I have thought of something ! ” Winifred 
announced. “ To-morrow you and I will drive 
out a little way with your aunt. With Fluff, 
I mean ; and Hero may go too. I will harness 
Fluff ^into the cart, and we will be all ready to 
start at the same time they do.” 

Ruth agreed that this would be a fine plan*, 
and both the girls were sure that Aunt Deborah 
would be pleased that they wished to go a part 
of the way with, her. They decided to take 
“ Josephine ” and “ Cecilia,” as well as Hero, 
with them. 

“ It will make up to them for not taking part 



IT WAS A FAVORITE PLAY-HOUSE 















OF OLD PHILADELPHIA 95 

in the play,” said Winifred. So much had hap¬ 
pened during the past week that Ruth had en¬ 
tirely forgotten the unfinished chair for Cecilia, 
but now she spoke of it to Winifred. 

“I will help you finish it. But let's take our 
dolls and work into the garden ; it is too warm 
to stay in the house,” she said, and in a short 
time the two little girls had brought Cecilia 
and Josephine, as well as their sewing bags, to the 
shade of the wide-spreading maple tree that 
grew in the further corner of the Pennells' gar¬ 
den. Ruth's father had built a low seat around 
this tree, and it was a favorite play-house for the 
two little friends. Hero followed them, and 
stretched himself out at their feet, quite sure 
that they were both happier because of his 
presence. 

For a little while the girls worked steadily, 
covering with chintz the cardboard pieces that 
would form the chair. 

“ I'll put it together,” said Winifred, and with 
skilful fingers she fastened the seat, back and 
arms ; and with a triumphant “ There ! ” set 
it down beside Ruth, who looked at it admir¬ 
ingly, and lost no time in establishing Cecilia in 
her new possession. 


A LITTLE MAID 


96 

“ Wouldn’t it be fine if we could make a sofa, 
and a table and a little bed for each of our 
dolls ? ” suggested Ruth. 

“ We can,” declared Winifred, “ but I think it 
would be nicer to have the table and bed made 
of wood. Let’s go in your shed and see if we 
can find some nice smooth pieces.” 

“ And Father’s tool box is in the shed,” said 
Ruth, as they left their dolls in Hero’s care and 
ran across the garden to the shed, whose open 
door faced the big maple. 

The shed was nearly square. Beside the wide 
door there were two windows, both looking into 
the garden, and beneath these was Mr. Pen¬ 
nell’s work-bench, and a box containing his 
treasured tools; and on a long shelf over the 
bench were carefully arranged strips and squares 
of polished wood. For in the days of peace Mr. 
Pennell had used his leisure hours in making 
frames for pictures, a work-box, desk or light- 
stand ; and had collected this store of material 
from many sources. Ruth had often played 
about in the shed while her father was at work, 
but she had no idea of the value of his store of 
wood. 

“ Oh, Winifred! Look ! This will make a 


OF OLD PHILADELPHIA 97 

fine table ! ” she said, standing on the work¬ 
bench and pulling down a strip of curly maple. 

“ And here are some dark shiny strips, just the 
thing for bed-posts ! ” said Winnie, drawing out 
a slender length of highly polished mahogany. 
In a few minutes the two girls had pulled down 
a number of strips of wood, had opened Mr. Pen¬ 
nell’s tool-chest and taken out a number of 
planes, a small saw, gimlets and a hammer. 

“ But we haven’t any patterns,” said Winifred. 
“ You know we had a pattern for the chair.” 

“ We don’t need any pattern for a table. It 
is just a top and four legs, one at each corner,” 
declared Ruth. “ We can begin on the table to¬ 
day ; then we can look at sofas and beds and 
make patterns, if we need to.” 

“ Here is something to measure with,” said 
Winifred, holding up a foot-rule. “ We can make 
anything I Oh, Ruth! Instead of making 
doll furniture let’s make truly tables. I am 
sure some of those pieces are large enough.” 

“ Winifred, you always think of just the right 
thing,” Ruth responded admiringly. “ Let’s 
make a table for a present for Betty. She got 
all those nice things for us to dress up in, and 
we have never made her a present.” 


A LITTLE MAID 


98 

Winifred nodded approvingly. She was 
greatly pleased by Ruth’s admiration, and she 
thought that Betty would be greatly surprised 
to discover that two girls so much younger than 
herself could really make a table. 

“ Ruth ! Ruth I ” called Aunt Deborah from 
the back porch. “ Dinner is ready 1 ” 

So the two little girls were obliged to leave 
their pleasant plans, and, after promising to re¬ 
turn early that afternoon, Winifred started for 
home while Ruth ran into the house. 

“ My chair is all finished for Cecilia,” she 
announced as she took her seat at the dinner- 
table, “ and Winifred and I are going to make a 
table for Betty.” 

Mrs. Pennell and Aunt Deborah both smiled 
their approval, thinking that the table for Betty, 
like Cecilia's chair, was to be made of paste¬ 
board. 

“ Thee must bring thy doll to Barren Hill,” 
said Aunt Deborah. “ There are fine places to 
play in the big barn and in the pine woods, 
and thy doll will be company for thee.” 

“ How soon may I visit Aunt Deborah, 
Mother ? ” Ruth asked eagerly. “ May I not go 
with Farmer Withely next week?” 


OF OLD PHILADELPHIA 99 

44 1 cannot spare you so soon, Ruthie dear,” 
responded her mother, “ and I will have to ask 
permission from the English General for you to 
leave the town. You see they fear even small 
Americans,” she concluded laughingly. But 
before dinner was over it was decided that, if all 
went well, Ruth should go to Barren Hill about 
the first of May. That seemed a long time to 
Ruth ; but she remembered that Betty’s table 
was not even begun, and if she and Winifred 
did decide to make furniture for their dolls the 
three weeks that must pass before her visit to 
Barren Hill would perhaps be none too long a 
time. 

Mrs. Pennell had just left the table when 
there was a rap at the door, and before any one 
could respond it opened, and there stood Wini¬ 
fred ; her face was pale and she was evidently 
frightened. 

“ Oh, Mrs. Pennell! There are two English 
officers at our house. They have come to take 
Gilbert,” she exclaimed, “and they want Ruth 
too.” 

“‘Take Gilbert’!” echoed Mrs. Pennell. 
“ What has he done? And what do they want 
of Ruth ? ” 



IOO 


A LITTLE MAID 


“ Oh ! It's because of the play. Mother lost 
the programme we made for her. It blew away, 
and an English soldier found it; and they are 
going to take Ruth too,” Winifred finished 
nearly in tears. 

“ I will go and speak with these officers,” said 
Aunt Deborah calmly. “ Thee need not be 
troubled, Winifred. Thee and Ruth had best 
come with me so they can see how dangerous an 
enemy they have to arrest,” and Aunt Deborah 
smiled so reassuringly that Winifred took cour¬ 
age, and followed Aunt Deborah to the door. 
They were soon in the Merrills’ garden, just in 
time to meet two English soldiers with Gilbert 
between them coming down the steps. 

Aunt Deborah went forward smilingly. 

u Thee does not mean to take this lad from 
his home,” she said, speaking to the elder of the 
two men. “ He has done nothing worthy of 
thy notice, and his mother can ill spare him.” 
t “ That may be, madam. But we must obey 
orders. We have to take G. Merrill and R. Pen¬ 
nell to General Howe,” the man answered 
civilly. 

“ Here is R. Pennell,” said Aunt Deborah, her 
hand resting protectingly on Ruth’s shoulder. 


OF OLD PHILADELPHIA ioi 

“Surely thee does not mean to take this little 
girl ? ” 

The soldiers seemed somewhat surprised at 
this, but repeated that they must obey orders. 
Gilbert did not seem at all afraid ; he took Ruth 
by the hand, and told her that it was nothing 
to be alarmed about. Mrs. Merrill, Aunt Deb¬ 
orah, Ruth's mother and Winifred kept close to 
the “ prisoners ” as the little party made its way 
down the street toward the headquarters of the 
English General. 


CHAPTER XI 


A LONG HOAD 

“ What is this?” called a pleasant voice, and 
the two soldiers halted instantly and saluted a 
young officer who blocked their way. 

“ If thee please, sir, there has been a mistake 
made,” said Aunt Deborah, and proceeded to 
tell the story of the birthday entertainment that 
the children had given for Mrs. Merrill. 

The young officer listened gravely. 

“ As you say, madam, they are but children ; 
but such games find little favor among loyal 
English people,” he responded. 

“ But thee must remember we are Americans,” 
said Aunt Deborah fearlessly. The young officer 
turned and walked beside them. Now and then 
he smiled as if amused by his own thoughts, 
but he said nothing more until they reached the 
headquarters of the General. 

“ Wait here a moment,” he said, and ran up 
the steps. 


102 


OF OLD PHILADELPHIA 103 

44 I shall tell them that Ruth had nothing to 
do with it, and that I am the only one to 
blame,” Gilbert said to Mrs. Pennell. 44 Of course 
they won’t punish any one but me.” 

Before Mrs. Pennell could reply the young of¬ 
ficer appeared at the door, and came slowly 
down the steps. 

” Come with me, young sir,” he said, resting 
his hand on Gilbert’s shoulder. 44 You may take 
the little girls home, ladies,” he added. “ I am 
quite sure they will not prove a danger to Eng¬ 
land’s cause.” 

44 I will wait for my son,” said Mrs. Merrill. 
44 I do not suppose you mean to detain him 
long.” 

44 I cannot say as to that, madam ; but you 
are quite welcome to wait. If you will come in 
I will see that you find a comfortable chair,” he 
replied courteously. 

44 1 will wait here,” said Mrs. Merrill. 

44 And we will wait also,” declared Ruth's 
mother. 

Ruth and Winifred clasped each other’s hands 
as they watched Gilbert being led up the steps. 
They thought their mothers were very brave in¬ 
deed to reply so calmly to an English officer. 


A LITTLE MAID 


104 

Gilbert was absent not more than a half hour, 
but it seemed much longer to the anxious little 
group. He came down the steps alone, and 
when his mother slipped her hand under one 
arm while Winifred clasped his other hand he 
smiled and said : “ Humph ! All they did was 
laugh and tell me to choose a better plot for my 
next play. They are not soldiers at all. Why, 
they asked me if I would not like to take a part 
in one of Major Andre’s plays.” 

“ What did you say, Gilbert?” questioned 
Winifred. 

“ I said 1 No.’ And that’s all I said. And I 
did not thank them for the offer ; and then they 
laughed more than ever. I wish Washington 
would drive them out of Philadelphia,” an¬ 
swered Gilbert, who was a trifle disappointed that 
the Englishmen had not taken his play more 
seriously. He would not have minded if he had 
been held as a prisoner for a few days ; it would 
have made him feel that he had really done 
something to prove his loyalty to the American 
cause. 

But Mrs. Merrill was very glad to have her 
tall son safely beside her, although she was in¬ 
clined to agree with him that the gay young 


OF OLD PHILADELPHIA 105 

English officers took their duties too lightly. 
There had been balls at the City Tavern every 
week during the winter, and most of the of¬ 
ficers seemed to forget that there were dangers 
in store for them from the American Army at 
Valley Forge. 

Gilbert’s adventure made Ruth and Winifred 
completely forget their plan to make a table as a 
present for Betty until late that afternoon ; and 
then they decided not to begin it until after 
Aunt Deborah’s departure the next day. 

“ Mother has a table shaped like a heart. We 
could mark a heart on that square piece of dark 
wood with chalk and then cut it out,” suggested 
Winnie. “ I am sure Betty would like that bet¬ 
ter than a plain square table.” 

“ Of course she would,” agreed Ruth. 
Neither of the little girls realized how hard an 
undertaking it would be to carve a heart-shaped 
table top from the square piece of mahogany. 

Ruth was awake at an early hour the next 
morning. The April sun shone warmly in 
through her open window ; the robins, who had 
built a nest in the hawthorn tree, sang jubilantly 
as if rejoicing that spring was really at hand, and 
Ruth could hear her mother and Aunt Deborah 


106 A LITTLE MAID 

moving about in the lower rooms. It was just 
the day for a ride in the country. 

Ruth was glad that Winifred had thought of 
so pleasant a plan as driving a part of the way 
with Aunt Deborah. Both the little girls had 
taken it for granted that their mothers would 
have no objection. Winifred was used to driv¬ 
ing the pony, and had often taken Ruth with 
her, but they had never been farther than Fair 
Mount, a pleasant hill just outside the town on 
the Schuylkill River, or along the quiet streets 
of the town ; but to-day Winifred had said that 
they would drive until Aunt Deborah should 
tell them to turn toward home. 

Farmer Withely usually arrived in the city 
at an early hour, delivered his produce, then 
gave the big brown horse an hour or two rest, 
and was ready to start on his return journey 
directly after dinner. 

Aunt Deborah did not keep him waiting, and 
was at the gate with Mrs. Pennell beside her 
when the round-faced smiling farmer in his long 
coat of heavy blue drilling and his wide-rimmed 
hat came driving up. 

“ Where can Ruth be?” her mother said 
anxiously, as the farmer lifted Aunt Deborah’s 


OF OLD PHILADELPHIA loy 

trunk into the back of the wagon and stood 
waiting to help her mount to the high seat. 

At that moment the pony carriage drew up 
behind the wagon with Winnie and Ruth smil¬ 
ing and waving their hands at Aunt Deborah. 

“We are going a little way with you, Mistress 
Farleigh,” called Winifred. 

“ May I go, Mother ?” Ruth added. 

Aunt Deborah was evidently greatly pleased 
that the little girls had wished to go a little way 
with her on her journey home,, and Mrs. Pennell 
smiled and nodded her consent, thinking that 
Ruth would be safely back in an hour at the 
longest, and waving her good-byes as Farmer 
Withely climbed to his seat and the brown 
horse trotted off, closely followed by Fluff. 

Down the street they went, turning now into 
the broader highway and at last reaching the 
river road that led straight to Matson's Ford, 
beyond which the road led on to Valley Forge. 

As they came in sight of the river the big 
horse stopped, and in a moment Fluff was be¬ 
side the farmer's cart. Aunt Deborah smiled 
down at the little girls. 

“ Tis best that thee turn toward home now. 
And I thank thee both for coming so far with 


108 A LITTLE MAID 

me. Twill not be long now, Ruth, before I 
hope to see thee at Barren Hill. And thee, 
Winifred, will be welcome also whenever thou 
canst give me the pleasure of a visit.” 

Before Aunt Deborah had finished speaking 
Ruth was out of the pony carriage and standing 
on the step of Farmer Withely’s cart holding 
up a package. 

“ Here is something I made for you, Aunt 
Deborah,” she said. Aunt Deborah reached 
down and received the small carefully wrapped 
package. 

“ Thank thee, dear child,” she said, and 
Ruth stood by the roadside and waved a good¬ 
bye as the brown horse trotted off at a more 
rapid pace than he had traveled through the 
town. 

“I wish we could have gone farther,” she said 
regretfully as she went back to her seat beside 
Winifred. 

“ Well, we can. We’ll turn up that shady 
road and see where it goes,” responded Wini¬ 
fred. “ What did you give your aunt ? ” 

“ A needle-book. Mother helped me make it. 
It is of blue flannel, with embroidered edges, 
and shaped like a small book, with Aunt Deb- 


OF OLD PHILADELPHIA 109 

orah's initials on the cover/’ said Ruth. “ Would 
it not be pleasant if you could visit Aunt Deb¬ 
orah when I do ? ” 

Winifred feared that such a visit would not 
be possible. But the two little friends talked 
of many things as Fluff trotted along the 
narrow country road, hardly more than a lane, 
and sheltered by closely growing trees. Now 
and then the road came out into an open space, 
and there would be many violets growing close 
to the roadside. Then the girls sprang from 
the cart and gathered handfuls of the fragrant 
blossoms, while Fluff nibbled at the grass, or 
twisted his head to watch his young mistress. 
The wild honeysuckle was also in bloom along 
a sloping pasture, and Ruth was eager to gather 
it to take home to her mother. She climbed up 
the rough slope, followed by Winifred, and they 
soon had large bunches of the delicate blossoms. 
From the top of the little hill that they had 
climbed they could see the distant line of the 
blue river, and after roaming about for a time 
they decided it was time to return to Fluff and 
start for home. The pony whinnied a little 
impatiently and shook his head at them as they 
approached. 


I IO 


A LITTLE MAID 


“ He thinks we have stayed too long,” said 
Winifred laughingly. “ What time do you sup¬ 
pose it is, Ruth ? ” 

“ Oh! we can't have been away from home 
more than an hour,” said Ruth; “ but the sky 
looks cloudy, doesn't it? ” 

But it was not clouds that made the sky 
darken, it was the rapidly approaching twilight. 
The tall trees shut out the golden spring sun¬ 
shine ; and the afternoon had passed so pleas¬ 
antly that neither Ruth nor Winifred had any 
idea that evening was close at hand, or that 
they were miles from home in a solitary and un¬ 
known road that had seemed to grow more nar¬ 
row as they went on. 

44 Perhaps we had better turn around now,” 
suggested Winifred a few moments after they 
had gathered the wild honeysuckle. “ I told 
Mother we would be home early. Why, what is 
the matter with Fluff? "she added in a startled 
tone, for the little pony had come to a full stop. 

Both the little girls jumped out of the cart 
and ran to the pony’s head, which drooped low. 
Fluff was breathing heavily, and it seemed to 
Winifred as if his slender legs trembled. 

44 Why, he can’t be tired. He had that long 


OF OLD PHILADELPHIA hi 


rest just now,” said Ruth anxiously. Neither 
of them realized that ever since leaving the river 
the road had run steadily up-hill, or that the 
pony had been traveling for a number of hours. 
Fluff was no longer young, and he had never 
been required to go long distances ; and now he 
could go no further. 

“ I’ll take off his harness,” said Winifred 
quickly. “ I hope he isn’t going to have a fit. 
Ned Ferris’s pony has fits.” It did not take her 
long to set Fluff free from the pony-cart, and he 
turned a grateful look toward his little mistress, 
who began to wish there was a brook or spring 
near at hand where the little creature could 
drink. 

Ruth smoothed Fluff’s head, and Winifred 
with a bunch of wayside grass rubbed his back 
and legs. 

“ Pie’s going to lie down,” said Winifred as 
Fluff moved his head about quickly ; and in a 
moment the tired little creature had stretched 
himself at their feet. 

“ What shall we do? I am sure Fluff can’t 
take us home,” exclaimed Winifred, “ and we 
can’t go and leave him here.” 

“ It can’t be very far from home,” responded 


I I 2 


A LITTLE MAID 


Ruth. “1 could go home and tell Gilbert, and 
he would come right back for you with Ned’s 
pony.” 

“ But what could we do with Fluff? ” asked 
Winifred a little despondently. “ He is too tired 
to drive home.” 

“ Perhaps he’d be rested enough by that time 
to go home, if he didn’t have to pull the cart,” 
said Ruth; “ anyway, I do think one of us 
ought to go home or our mothers will think 
some harm has befallen us. I’ll stay, if you 
would rather go.” 

But Winifred shook her head. She did not 
wish to leave the pony ; neither was she pleased 
at the thought of staying by herself on that 
lonely road. At last, however, they decided 
that Ruth’s plan was the best they could think 
of, and Ruth started. 

“ I’ll hurry all the way, Winifred ; and Gilbert 
will come back as fast as he can,” she called as 
she started to run down the hill. 


CHAPTER XII 


A LONG RIDE 

“ I wish we had brought Hero,” thought Ruth 
regretfully as she hurried down the shadowy 
road, “ then he could have come with me for 
company.” For at the last moment before leav¬ 
ing home the little girls had decided that it 
was not best to let Hero accompany them. 
There was not room for him in the pony-cart, 
and for him to race along the streets might well 
mean that he would again disappear; so Ruth 
had been quite ready to leave him at home. 
But now she would have been very glad to have 
him running along beside her. “Josephine” 
and “ Cecilia ” had also been left behind ; in 
fact neither Winifred nor Ruth had remembered 
the dolls until after they had said good-bye to 
Aunt Deborah. And, while Ruth was regret¬ 
ting the absence of Hero, Winifred, sitting close 
beside Fluff, was wishing that her beloved 
Josephine was there to keep her company. 

113 


A LITTLE MAID 


114 

“ It would be a great adventure for Josephine,” 
she thought, looking up through the overhang¬ 
ing branches of the big oak under which Fluff 
had stopped to rest. For a time she amused 
herself by braiding the long grass and weaving 
it about green twigs broken from an elder-bush 
until she had made a wide, shallow basket with 
a handle. Into this she put the violets and wild 
honeysuckle, resolving to take it home as a 
present to her mother. She put it carefully 
under the seat of the pony-cart, and then de¬ 
cided to search for a spring or brook, for she 
was thirsty. 

Fluff showed no signs of wishing to start for 
home, or even to eat the tempting young grass 
growing near. 

“ If I find a brook perhaps I can lead him, and 
then he will get a good drink,” thought Wini¬ 
fred, crossing the narrow road and pushing aside 
a thick growth of wild shrubs. 

“ Oh ! ” she exclaimed, for she had stepped at 
once on to damp yielding moss which covered 
her low cut slippers and wetted her feet as com¬ 
pletely as if she had stepped into a brook. Just 
beyond this moss lay a clear little pool of water, 
evidently fed by springs. 


OF OLD PHILADELPHIA 115 

Winifred discovered that the farther, or upper, 
bank of the pool was dry and sandy, and in a 
few moments she was kneeling beside the clear 
water and drinking thirstily. She then made 
her way back to the road, breaking down 
branches of the shrubs to make a way for Fluff, 
who was now on his feet looking about as if in 
search of his little mistress. 

“Come on, Fluff,” she said coaxingly, grasp¬ 
ing the plume-like mane. “ Come and have a 
drink.” The pony moved forward obediently. 
He hesitated a moment at having to push his 
way through the undergrowth, but with Wini¬ 
fred encouraging and urging him forward he 
was soon in sight of the pool, and then sprang 
forward so suddenly that his mane slid through 
Winifred's hands and she found herself on her 
hands and knees while Fluff, with his nose in 
the clear water, was drinking thirstily. 

Winifred laughed as she scrambled to her 
feet. Her shoes and stockings were wet and 
muddy, her pretty blue linen dress was torn, 
and now she realized that her hat was gone, that 
she must have lost it in pushing her way through 
the undergrowth ; but these things seemed of 
small consequence to Winifred just then ; for the 


A LITTLE MAID 


116 

pony, with his forefeet planted firmly in the 
shallow water, was evidently more himself than 
he had been since he had stopped short under 
the oak tree. 

“ ril lead him back and harness him into the 
cart and start after Ruth,” thought his little 
mistress happily, “ and I do believe it is getting 
dark ! ” she added aloud, realizing that the 
woods seemed very shadowy, as she made her 
way toward the pool. 

As she came near Fluff he lifted his head from 
the water, shook himself much as a big dog 
would do, and whinnied with satisfaction. But 
as Winifred approached more closely he gave a 
little dancing step into the water just beyond 
her reach. 

“ Oh, Fluff! It isn't any time to play games. 
We must start for home before it is really dark,” 
said Winifred. But Fluff was now rested, and 
free from his harness in a fragrant shadowy wood. 
He was sure that his little mistress must be as 
ready as himself for a game, so he edged along 
the pool until a clear space opened before him, 
and then he stepped out, and trotted briskly 
away between the tall trees. 

“ Fluff! Fluff!” called Winifred, running 


OF OLD PHILADELPHIA 117 

after him. “ Oh I where did he go?” for the 
pony had disappeared as if the earth had 
swallowed him. Winifred ran on until her 
way was blocked by thickly growing under¬ 
brush. Then she turned back, but now she 
could not find the pool. The shadows deep¬ 
ened ; she could hardly distinguish one tree from 
another, and there was no sound or sign from 
the gray pony. 

u What shall I do?” she said, standing close 
to the trunk of a pine tree that rose straight 
and tall with wide-spreading branches. She 
realized that she must now be some distance 
from the road and the big oak tree where she 
had left the pony-cart, and Fluff perhaps was 
deep in this wilderness, unable to make his way 
back ; and, worst of all, night was close upon her. 

It was indeed a dangerous position for a little 
girl to be alone in a wilderness as Winifred 
found herself. It was a time when many wild 
beasts still wandered about, often coming near 
to the outskirts of towns and villages. Winifred 
remembered that only a few weeks earlier a 
catamount had been killed at Fair Mount, and 
she knew that in the early spring bears left the 
dens where they had slept through the winter, 


A LITTLE MAID 


118 

and wandered through the woods eating the 
tender young buds and leaves. She crouched 
closer to the tree as she remembered these 
things, and then suddenly she recalled the 
words that she had worked on her sampler: 
“ There shall no evil befall thee. For he shall 
give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in 
all thy ways.” 

Her mother had traced the words, and Wini¬ 
fred had worked them in dull blue yarns on 
the perforated wool cloth. She said them over 
aloud : “ No evil befall thee,” and was no longer 
afraid. She did not think now of the beasts of 
the dark wood, but of a kindly presence that 
would shelter her. 

“ Perhaps Fluff will come and find me,” she 
thought hopefully. “ Anyway, Ruth will soon 
be back with Gilbert, and they will call my name, 
and I shall call back,” and so comforted and 
encouraged Winifred sat down on the soft pine 
spills and leaned back against the tall tree. 
A pair of squirrels chattered noisily in the 
branches; a soft-footed little animal sped by 
almost touching her feet, and she could hear 
faint calls from nesting birds near at hand. 

“ For he shall give his angels charge over 


OF OLD PHILADELPHIA 119 

thee,” the little girl whispered to herself, and 
soothed and quieted by the spring fragrance of 
the wood her eyes closed. 

Ruth, meanwhile, was trudging along the 
road toward home. She was sure that she could 
find the way without any trouble. 

“ All I have to do is to turn when I come to 
the river road and follow it straight back to the 
city, and then any one can tell me how to get 
home,” she thought, hopefully. But she began 
to think she should never reach the river road. 
Her thin shoes were scrubbed and dusty, and 
she wondered what Aunt Deborah would say at 
her untidy appearance. 

Now and then she would quicken her pace 
and run until she was out of breath. She began 
to understand why Fluff was tired out. Just 
before she reached the river road there was the 
sound of breaking twigs, and of some animal 
making its way through the woods, and the 
next moment a deer followed by a young fawn 
sprang into the road directly in front of the sur¬ 
prised and startled little girl ; but they vanished 
before Ruth realized that they had been within 
reach of her hand. 

“ Oh 1 I wishWinifred could have seen them,” 


120 


A LITTLE MAID 


she thought. The road now hardly showed 
in the thick dusk. Ruth stumbled often, and 
began to be both hungry and thirsty. She 
wished she could stop and rest; but the thought 
of Winifred sitting alone under the big oak tree 
made her resolve not to stop until she reached 
home. 

At last she could see an open space ahead, 
and the dark line of the river ; and at the same 
moment she heard the sound of trotting feet on 
the road behind her and a little gray figure ran 
swiftly by. 

“ That was Fluff! I know it was Fluff,” she 
exclaimed, and called loudly after the pony. 
But Fluff did not stop; he knew he was headed 
for home, and it was much easier to run along 
free and unharnessed than to pull a cart contain¬ 
ing two little girls. 

Ruth now hardly knew what to do. Perhaps 
Winifred might be coming closely behind the 
pony. 

“ Perhaps I ought to wait and see if she is 
coming,” thought Ruth, puzzled and uncertain 
as to the right course to take. Before she 
could decide she saw the gleam of a lantern, and 
heard the wheels of a carriage coming rapidly 


OF OLD PHILADELPHIA 121 


over the road, and without a moment’s hesita¬ 
tion she called out: “ Stop ! Please stop !" 
and heard a familiar voice respond : 

“ It’s Ruth. It’s Ruth.” And the light of 
the lantern showed Gilbert and his mother in 
Ned Ferris's pony-cart. 

In a moment they were standing in the road 
beside her, and Ruth was telling the story of 
the woodland road, and of Winifred waiting be¬ 
side the pony-cart under a big oak tree. 

“And Fluff just ran by, headed for home," 
she concluded. 

“ I thought it was Fluff who raced past us. I 
was sure it was he," said Gilbert. 

They were now puzzled what course to take. 
To leave Winifred alone so far from any human 
habitation was not to be thought of; neither 
did Mrs. Merrill wish Ruth to go on toward 
home without some one with her. 

“ Gilbert, you must go home with Ruth, and 
I will drive on after Winifred," she decided. 
“ Mrs. Pennell will be sadly troubled when 
Fluff comes running home and she has no news 
of her little girl. Go as quickly as you can." 

Gilbert agreed ; but he felt a little defrauded 
as he and Ruth turned toward home. He would 


122 


A LITTLE MAID 


have enjoyed going up that dark hillside road, 
where it seemed to him some interesting adven¬ 
ture might befall a traveler. 

Mrs. Merrill, with the lantern fastened to the 
front of the cart, drove rapidly up the hill, try¬ 
ing to pierce the dusky shadows of the roadside. 
Now and then she called Winifred’s name, and 
listened intently for some response, but none 
came. 

At last the light from the lantern showed the 
pony-carriage in the shadow of the big oak tree, 
and in a moment Mrs. Merrill was on the 
ground beside it. But Winifred was not to be 
seen. “ Winifred ! ” she called over and over, 
but there was no reply. 


CHAPTER XIII 


HOME AGAIN 

Winifred awakened suddenly. For a mo¬ 
ment she looked about with startled eyes. 

“ Winifred ! Winifred ! " 

“ That is Mother calling," she exclaimed 
aloud, springing to her feet, and resting one 
hand against the smooth trunk of the pine tree. 
For a moment she was too surprised and sleepy 
to respond to the call; then she called back, 
“ Mother! I'm in the woods ! ” at the same 
time moving slowly around to the other side 
of the big tree. 

“ Oh! There's a light! And there's the 
road I And there is Mother ! " and stumbling 
and running Winifred appeared in the road only 
a short distance from the flickering light of the 
lantern. 

“ Mother! Mother! Did you come all 
alone?" called Winifred, as her mother held 
her close as if, thought the little girl, “ I had 
been away a long time." 

123 


124 


A LITTLE MAID 


“ I thought I was way in the deep woods, and 
I was close to the road all the time. But Fluff 
is lost,” she explained, as her mother led her 
toward the cart. 

“ No, dear; Fluff passed us on our way home, 
and will probably be safe in his stall long before 
we get back,” replied Mrs. Merrill, and as they 
drove through the darkness she told her little 
daughter of how troubled she and Mrs. Pennell 
had been as the afternoon passed and Winifred 
and Ruth failed to return ; of Gilbert borrowing 
Ned’s pony, of meeting Ruth, “ and I have been 
here an hour, calling and calling,” she con¬ 
cluded. 

“ How sound asleep I must have been not to 
hear you,” said Winifred happily, snuggling 
closer to her mother’s side. 

“ After Fluff ran off I began to be frightened,” 
she continued. “ I thought of catamounts and 
bears ; and then I thought of my sampler.” 

“ Your sampler?” repeated Mrs. Merrill, not 
understanding just what Winifred meant. 

“ Yes, Mother dear! Don’t }mu remember 
the words you traced on it? ‘There shall no 
evil befall thee. For he shall give his angels 
charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy 


OF OLD PHILADELPHIA 125 

ways/ ” repeated the little girl. “ I kept saying 
it over and over and I was not afraid.” 

For a moment Mrs. Merrill did not reply. 
She stooped and kissed her little daughter, and 
then said : “ That was right, dear child.” 

It was nearly midnight when Mrs. Merrill 
and Winifred reached home, and Gilbert lifted 
a very sleepy little girl from the pony-cart. 
“ Mrs. Pennell and Ruth are here,” he said, 
“ and she has some hot broth ready.” 

Gilbert looked after Ned’s pony before follow¬ 
ing his mother and sister into the house. Mrs. 
Pennell had already prepared his supper and he 
had eaten it with Ruth on reaching home after 
their long walk ; but that seemed a long time 
ago, and he was quite ready to sit down at the 
candle-lit table and join the others. The hot 
broth, toast and damson preserves were very 
welcome to Winifred and her mother. The 
little group around the table were all too tired 
to talk much, but they smiled happily at one 
another, rejoicing that they were all safe and at 
home. 

It was decided that Mrs. Pennell and Ruth 
should stay the remainder of the night with the 
Merrills. 


126 


A LITTLE MAID 


“ Hero will take care of our house," Ruth 
said confidently, as she and her mother entered 
the pleasant chamber where they were to sleep. 

“ Mother, you never scold me, do you? " she 
said, just as Mrs. Pennell extinguished the 
candle, and smiled happily to herself at her 
mother's little laugh. 

“ Why, Ruthie dear ! I should hope not. You 
know ‘ scold 9 is an ugly word. There is noth¬ 
ing about it that is fair. It means to * find 
fault/ which is never quite fair ; do you think it 
is?" and Ruth agreed that “ scold ” had an 
ugly sound. 

“ We didn't mean to stay away and to worry 
you," said Ruth. 

“ Of course you didn’t, dear child. Go to 
sleep," replied her mother, who was thinking to 
herself that no other little girl was as dear and 
good as her own little daughter. And, strange 
as it may seem, Mrs. Merrill was thinking that 
very same thing about Winifred. 

How much there was for the two little friends 
to talk about the next day ! Gilbert and Fluff 
had started off at an early hour to bring home 
the pony-cart, and early in the afternoon Betty 
Hastings came to see Ruth. She knew nothing 


OF OLD PHILADELPHIA 127 

about the adventure of the day before, and 
listened eagerly to Ruth and Winifred as they 
told of the lonely road, the coming of darkness, 
and of the deer and fawn that Ruth had seen. 

The two younger girls looked at Betty ad¬ 
miringly as they all sat together in Mrs. Pen¬ 
nell's front room. Betty's smooth brown curls 
under her pretty white straw hat, her shining 
brown eyes and pleasant smile, and the pretty 
dress of blue and white plaid, made her well 
worth their approving glances. Both Ruth and 
Winifred wondered to themselves why it was 
that Betty’s hands were always clean, her hair 
smooth, and her dress always neat and in order. 
They decided, as they had often done before, 
that it was because Betty was so nearly grown 
up, nearly thirteen. They were quite sure that 
being tidy and careful was a gift that came with 
years. 

Ruth always liked to have Betty come to see 
her. 

44 It's just like really being grown up when 
Betty comes," she had explained to her mother, 
“ because we always sit in the front room, and 
never play dolls." So this afternoon when Mrs. 
Pennell brought in a tray with the little silver 


A LITTLE MAID 


128 

pitcher and sugar bowl, the lustre teapot, and 
the treasured Canton cups and saucers, together 
with a plate of round frosted cakes, and Ruth 
had the pleasure of giving Betty and Winifred 
a cup of “ real tea ” she felt herself the most 
fortunate little girl in Philadelphia. 

“ Tis not a taxed tea,” Mrs. Pennell declared 
smilingly ; for Americans had refused to receive 
any tea on which the Government of Great 
Britain demanded an unlawful tax. 

“ I came to ask you and Winifred to a May 
party,” said Betty, when she was ready to start 
for home. “ My mother says I may invite a dozen 
girls to go Maying to some pleasant place on 
the river, where we can gather flowers, put up a 
May-pole, and have a picnic lunch. Mother 
will get some one to drive us all out in a big 
wagon.” 

Both Ruth and Winifred were delighted at 
the invitation, and thanked Betty. May-day 
was nearly two weeks distant, but they were glad 
to have so pleasant an invitation. And the 
front door had hardly closed behind their vis¬ 
itor when Ruth exclaimed : 

“ We must begin on that table right away, 
Winifred, so that it will surely be finished by 


OF OLD PHILADELPHIA 129 

May-day. I have just remembered that May 
first is Betty's birthday ! Her mother always 
has a party for her." 

“ So it is! ” responded Winifred, as she fol¬ 
lowed Ruth toward the shed. 

There was a piece of chalk in the drawer of 
the work-bench, and Ruth, laying the square 
of smooth dark wood on the top of a barrel, be¬ 
gan to mark a large heart, while Winifred stood 
beside her watching admiringly. 

“ There ! " Ruth exclaimed, as her rather un¬ 
even chalk line came to an end. “ I guess that 
is enough to go by. We can make the edges 
smooth with some of the tools." 

Winifred agreed promptly. “ I'll make the 
legs," she volunteered. 

“ Be sure and have them all the same length," 
advised Ruth. “ You can take this chalk and 
mark the places where to saw ;" and in a few 
moments Winifred with a small sharp saw was 
endeavoring to cut through the strips of hard 
wood selected for table legs, while Ruth with a 
sharp knife tried in vain to make some impres¬ 
sion on the square of mahogany. Snap ! went 
the slender knife-blade! 

“ Oh, Winifred! quick ! I've cut off my 


A LITTLE MAID 


13° 

thumb ! ” screamed Ruth, as she raced past the 
horrified Winifred and ran into the kitchen call¬ 
ing : “ Mother ! Mother ! ” 

In a moment her mother was beside her; the 
injured thumb was bathed and bandaged, and 
Ruth was explaining, with Winifred’s help, how 
the accident occurred. It was really a deep cut, 
and it was no wonder that the little girl had 
been frightened. 

Mrs. Pennell went to the shed with the little 
girls, and looked with troubled eyes at the cher¬ 
ished pieces of polished wood, and the fine tools 
scattered about the floor. 

“ We must put all these tools carefully back 
in the chest, and the wood on the shelf just as 
your father left it. Winifred will help me, for 
you must not use your hand, Ruth,” she said. 

“ But, Mother, we want to make a heart- 
shaped table for a birthday present for Betty,” 
Ruth explained. “ Mayn’t we use Father’s 
tools?” 

“ No, my dear. It would have been a very 
serious thing if you had spoiled any of his saws 
or planes. And those strips and squares of 
wood are valuable. Besides that you and Win¬ 
ifred are not accustomed to the use of tools; 


OF OLD PHILADELPHIA 131 

and you might really have cut off your thumb 
instead of only cutting it,” said Mrs. Pennell. 
“ I am to blame that I did not tell you how 
much your dear father valued these tools and 
wood.” 

“ Oh, Mother ! You are never to blame. I 
ought to have asked you,” Ruth declared. 

“ Well, my dear, I really think it would have 
been wiser. But now we must think of some¬ 
thing else as a present for Betty. With that 
hurt thumb, Ruth, I am afraid you cannot make 
her anything,” responded her mother, leading 
the way to the seat under the maple tree. 

“ Now, let us all try and think of something 
that Betty would like for a birthday gift,” she 
continued, as they all sat down. Hero came 
bounding across the yard, and took his usual 
place at Ruth’s feet. 

“ I know I I know exactly what Betty would 
like,” declared Ruth, “ and I am sure I could 
help make it. Candy ! She loves candy. Can 
I not use some of your sugar, Mother, to make 
some heart-shaped sweets ? ” For Ruth had 
some tiny heart-shaped molds of tin, into which 
hot candy mixture could be turned, and that 
when cool came out in perfect shapes. 


A LITTLE MAID 


132 

“ That will be better than a table,” said Wini¬ 
fred eagerly, “ and I know my mother will give 
me some sugar for such a purpose. And, Ruth ! 
we can make a heart-shaped box of paper to put 
it in.” 

Mrs. Pennell listened smilingly as the two 
little girls made their plan for their friend’s 
birthday gift. She promised to give them a 
portion of her scanty store of sugar. 

“You will not need to make it for a week to 
come; and Ruth’s thumb will be well by that 
time. You may have the kitchen to yourselves 
on the last day of April,” she said. 

Ruth quite forgot the ugly cut in her excite¬ 
ment over the proposed candy-making. 

“ I am glad May is only ten days away,” she 
said. “ Just think of all that is going to happen 
next month ! Betty’s birthday picnic, and my 
visit to Aunt Deborah! And perhaps even 
more than that. Perhaps I shall see Lafayette! 
And perhaps the English will leave Philadel¬ 
phia.” 

Both her mother and Winifred laughed at 
Ruth’s eager prophecy. 


CHAPTER XIV 


THE CANDY DISAPPEARS 

Gilbert and Winifred often talked to Ruth 
of their soldier brother, Vinal; and she never 
tired of hearing the story of a midnight visit he 
had made during the previous winter. 

He had arrived home late one afternoon, 
coming up the street as if there were not an 
English soldier in the city, and had stayed the 
night in his own home, departing early the next 
morning for Valley Forge. It was just such an 
adventure as the children admired, and would 
have well liked to have had some part in. 

Gilbert had reluctantly given up the plan of 
changing his name to Lafayette. No one seemed 
to remember his wish, and after a few weeks he 
no longer reminded Ruth or Winifred. 

As the time of Ruth's visit to Barren Hill 
drew near she made many pleasant plans of all 
she would see and do while at Aunt Deborah’s 
133 


A LITTLE MAID 


*34 

square stone house, and recalled all that her 
aunt had told her of the beehives in a sunny 
corner of the garden, the flocks of chickens, 
the many birds that nested safely in the orchard 
trees, and the big attic that would be such a 
fine play-house on stormy days. But most of 
all Ruth thought of the fact that Barren Hill 
was only ten miles distant from Valley Forge, 
and that there might be some way in which she 
could see her father. 

“ I wish I could find out that the English 
were going to leave Philadelphia, and then I 
would have good news for Father,” she thought. 
“ Or if I could carry a fine present for Father to 
give Lafayette.” But there seemed little pros¬ 
pect that a little girl like Ruth could be the 
bearer of good news to the troops at Valley 
Forge, or of a present to the gallant young 
Frenchman. 

Ruth’s thumb healed in a few days, so that 
she could help her mother in the garden, and 
do her usual work about the house. Every 
morning, directly after breakfast, was the lesson 
hour, when Mrs. Pennell and Ruth would sit 
down in the dining-room and, as Ruth had 
described it to Aunt Deborah, “ Tell stories.” 


OF OLD PHILADELPHIA 135 

There were “history ” stories, and these Ruth 
liked best of all. One was the story of the first 
Quaker emigrants who came to Philadelphia in 
three small ships, bringing a friendly letter 
from the good-natured King Charles to the 
Delaware Indians. She liked to hear how these 
people sailed safely across the Atlantic and came 
up the Delaware, and first found shelter in 
caves along the river's bank, and then built 
themselves log cabins, and big strong houses. 

Then there were stories of the stars, by which 
sailors steered their course at sea, and there 
were stories of birds and beasts, and a very 
amusing game in which a small girl from Japan 
and another from China, and a little black girl 
from Africa, each recited the way children were 
taught in those countries. 

Mrs. Pennell did not always tell the stories, 
no, indeed! Often Ruth would be asked to tell 
the story of William Penn, or perhaps to draw 
a little picture of certain constellations. And 
always there was the adding of apples, the 
dividing of apples into four parts and eight 
parts, which Mrs. Pennell called “ Fractions." 
And after this pleasant hour there were the neat 
stitches to be set in apron, dress, or handker- 


A LITTLE MAID 


136 

chief. Nearly every child had regular tasks; 
they were taught to use their hands as well as 
their eyes and thoughts, and Ruth was very 
proud that she could hemstitch nicely, and “ set 
the heel ” of a stocking, and finish off its toe. 

After Vinal brought the letter from Ruth’s 
father Mrs. Pennell seemed more cheerful, and 
often said that she was sure it would not be 
many months before Philadelphia would be rid 
of the enemy. 

Ruth and Winifred counted the days until 
the last day of April, when they were to make 
the candy as a present for Betty. The pretty 
heart-shaped box that was to hold it was already 
finished. Mrs. Pennell had helped them make 
it. She had carefully shaped it from paste¬ 
board, and then, with a flour paste, the little girls 
had covered it carefulty with some pretty bits of 
wall-paper. The cover had three tiny hearts cut 
from gilt paper, and Ruth and Winifred were 
both sure that Betty would be much pleased by 
their gift, especially when she opened it and 
found it full of sweets. 

Ruth had just finished her lesson hour on the 
morning of the day before the May-day picnic, 
when Winifred appeared. She brought a pack- 


OF OLD PHILADELPHIA 137 

age of sugar that her mother had given her as 
her share for the candy, and the two little girls 
ran to the kitchen, which they were to have 
quite to themselves for their candy-making. 

The family cooking was done over the bed of 
coals in the fireplace, and Ruth brought out a 
saucepan, a big spoon, and some sugar from the 
pantry, and talking happily of the pleasures of 
the coming day the two little friends measured 
their sugar and set the saucepan over the coals, 
while Ruth, spoon in hand, watched it carefully, 
while Winifred stood close by ready to help. 

It was a great event to be permitted to make 
candy, and both Winifred and Ruth decided 
that it would be a much more acceptable pres¬ 
ent than a table. 

In a short time the melted sugar, flavored 
with rose leaves, was ready to be turned into 
the tiny heart-shaped molds, and set to cool on 
the window ledge. 

“ Let’s go out in the garden,” suggested Ruth. 
“ If we stay in here we shall keep looking at the 
candy to see if it is ready to turn out, and it 
will seem forever.” So they went out to the 
seat under the maple tree, played with Hero, 
talked about the May party and the time, now 


A LITTLE MAID 


138 

near at hand, when Ruth would go to visit Aunt 
Deborah, and nearly an hour passed before they 
returned to the kitchen. 

“Why, where are the molds?” exclaimed 
Ruth. “ Where is the candy ? ” demanded Wini¬ 
fred, and they looked at the vacant window-sill 
where they had left the sweets to cool. 

“ Mother must have put them in the pantry,” 
said Ruth. 

“ Of course,” Winifred agreed, and the little 
girls exchanged a smile of relief as they both 
turned toward the pantry. 

But the candy was not there. 

“ I’ll run and ask her where she put it,” said 
Ruth, and hurried off to find her mother who 
was busy in one of the upper rooms. 

“ But I have not been down-stairs, dear child,” 
Mrs. Pennell replied. “ You do not suppose the 
molds have fallen out of the window?” she 
asked, and without stopping to answer Ruth ran 
back to the kitchen, and leaned out of the win¬ 
dow, but there was no candy to be seen. 

“ Oh, Ruth ! The box is gone, too ! Some 
one must have come in and taken it! ” said 
Winifred; and, sure enough, the pretty box had 
disappeared from the table as well as the molds 


OF OLD PHILADELPHIA 139 

from the window. Both the little girls were 
ready to cry with disappointment. 

They knew that each of the other guests 
would bring Betty a present, and they knew 
also that their mothers could not spare any 
more sugar for candy. Besides this the pretty 
box was gone, and they had no more bits of 
paper to make another. 

“ I shan’t go to the party,” Ruth declared. 
“ And who could have been mean enough to 
take the candy ? ” 

Mrs. Pennell was nearly as troubled as Ruth 
and Winnie. It was evident that some one 
must have entered the house by the front door, 
taken the candy, and made off while the girls 
were in the garden. She feared that other 
things must have been taken, but a careful 
search proved that nothing else was missing. 

Winifred agreed with Ruth that they did not 
wish to go to the party without a present for Betty. 
“ And now it is too late to even think of any¬ 
thing,” she said as she started for home, leaving 
Ruth puzzled and unhappy, and wondering to 
herself if perhaps some ill-natured fairies had 
not made off with the sweets. The more Ruth 
thought of this the more convinced she was that 


A LITTLE MAID 


140 

it was what had happened. She remembered 
hearing queer little noises at her window that 
morning that she had thought were made by 
the birds nesting in the hawthorn. Now she 
said to herself that it must have been fairies 
coming into the house. “ And because I did 
not make them welcome they have taken the 
candy,” she decided, remembering a fairy tale 
that Mrs. Merrill had once told the two girls 
in which children had always welcomed fairies 
who came tapping at the windows of a spring 
morning, by singing: 

u Welcome, fairies good and kind; 

Come in, come in, and welcome find.” 

In the story the fairies had brought wonderful 
gifts, but if they had not been welcomed they 
would have taken the children’s dearest pos¬ 
sessions, which could only be recovered by walk¬ 
ing around the garden just before sunrise and 
bowing low three times to the lilac, three times 
to a robin, and three times with your eyes shut 
tight, repeating each time : 

“ Fairies, fairies, here I bow. 

Will you kindly pardon now 
That T did not hear or see 
When you came to visit me ? ” 


OF OLD PHILADELPHIA 141 

Ruth was glad that she could remember it. 

“ I’ll get up before sunrise to-morrow morning 
and do exactly as the little girl did in the story 
when the fairies brought back her silver heart, 
and then probably when I open my eyes there 
will be the box and the candy/' thought Ruth. 

“ Why, of course, it was because the box and 
the candies were heart-shaped/' she decided; 
“ that's another reason I'm sure it was fairies. 
It will be splendid if I can get them back. I 
won't tell Winifred until after breakfast to¬ 
morrow. Won't she be surprised ? " 

Mrs. Pennell wondered a little that Ruth was 
in such good spirits the rest of the day, after 
the disappearance of the candy, and that she 
was so ready to go to bed at an hour earlier 
than the usual time. 


CHAPTER XV 


A FAIRY STORY 

When Gilbert took the pan of candy-molds 
from the open window of Mrs. Pennell's kitchen, 
and, reaching in captured the heart-shaped box 
from the table, his only intention was to keep 
them just long enough to puzzle Ruth and Win¬ 
ifred and then return them. When the girls 
came back to the kitchen he had run into the 
shed, and set box and pan in the open drawer of 
the work-bench and closed it quickly, and had 
then gone home to attend to some garden work, 
meaning to come back in an hour at the longest; 
but his mother had sent him on an errand, and 
it was noon before Gilbert remembered the 
candy ; and then Winifred was telling the story 
of its disappearance: 

“ You wouldn't think any one would be so 
mean as to take our candy," she concluded, and 
Gilbert felt his face flush uncomfortably, and 
realized that it was going to be very difficult to 
explain what he had intended for a joke to 
142 


OF OLD PHILADELPHIA 143 

Ruth and Winifred. In some way he must get 
that candy and box back to the place from 
which he had taken it, or else tell the girls what 
he had done ; and this last alternative would be 
unpleasant. All that afternoon he was on the 
alert for a chance to slip into the Pennells’ gar¬ 
den, enter the shed and rescue the hidden 
sweets ; but the day was warm and pleasant, 
and Ruth and Winifred with their dolls and 
Hero were out-of-doors playing about in the 
shade of the maple tree until it was too late for 
Gilbert to carry out his plan ; so that he was as 
uneasy and troubled as Ruth or Winifred over 
the missing candy, and not until evening could 
he think of any way to recover it. 

He was just closing the stable for the night 
when he noticed the shallow basket of woven 
grass and twigs which Winifred had made on 
the eventful afternoon’s journey along the river 
road. The violets and wild honeysuckle were 
now only dried up stems; but the basket looked 
serviceable and attractive. Gilbert smiled as he 
picked it up. He knew now exactly what he 
would do: he would get up very early the next 
morning, gather daffodils and iris and then take 
the basket to Mrs. Pennell’s shed,—take the 


A LITTLE MAID 


1 44 

candy from the molds, fill the box, and setting 
the box in Winifred's grass basket cover it with 
flowers; then he would hang it to the knocker 
of the Pennells’ front door. 

“ The girls will think the fairies did it for a 
May-day surprise,” he chuckled to himself, re¬ 
membering that Winifred could never quite de¬ 
cide about fairies: if there really were such 
wonderful little people or not. 

So Gilbert was up before sunrise the next 
morning, and with a friendly word to Piero, found 
it an easy matter to enter the shed quietly and 
take the candy and box from the bench drawer. 
In a few moments he had filled the box skilfully 
without breaking one of the tiny hearts, set it in 
the basket and covered it with the spring blos¬ 
soms. He was just about to leave the shed when 
he heard a voice, and peering out saw Ruth bow¬ 
ing to the lilac tree and saying in a low voice : 

u Fairies, fairies, here I bow. 

Will you kindly pardon now 
That I did not hear or see 
When you came to visit mei” 

“ Jiminy ! It’s that old fairy story Mother 
tells; and Ruth believes it,” thought Gilbert, 


OF OLD PHILADELPHIA 145 

as he watched Ruth bowing low to a startled 
robin, which flew up to a higher branch in the 
hawthorn tree. She was so much absorbed in 
what she was doing that she did not hear the 
stealthy step behind her on the soft grass as 
Gilbert swiftly set down the mold pan and the 
basket, and flew back to the shop. He had 
just reached its shelter when Ruth turned to go 
back to the house and saw the basket. 

She looked at it for a moment as if she could 
hardly believe her eyes ; and as she stooped to 
pick it up Ruth fully expected that basket, pan 
and tin molds would all vanish from sight. But 
no! They were real; and, quite as Ruth ex¬ 
pected, the box, filled with candy hearts, was 
under the flowers. 

“ Oh ! what will Winifred say?” she whispered 
to herself. And then she bowed to the lilac tree 
and to the robin, and said, “ Thank you, kind 
fairies. I will always know now that you are 
true and kind,” and then Ruth ran into the 
house to wake up her mother and tell her this 
wonderful story, and show her the basket in 
proof of the fairies' visit. 

Gilbert hurried home. He was delighted 
with the success of his plan, but a little troubled 


A LITTLE MAID 


146 

that Ruth should believe so implicitly that 
fairies had first taken and then returned the 
candy. 

Mrs. Pennell listened to Ruth’s story and 
looked at the basket with as much wonder and 
surprise as even Ruth could expect. Although 
she did not deny that fairies had a hand in the 
return of the candy, she endeavored to explain 
to herself just how it could have occurred. 
But she remembered how much happiness she 
herself had had as a small girl in believing in 
good fairies, and was quite willing that her own 
little daughter should have the same pleasure. 

The Merrills were just sitting down to an 
early breakfast when Ruth came over to tell 
Winifred that the candy had been found, but 
she did not tell all the story, for she knew Gil¬ 
bert laughed at fairies. 

“ I’ll tell you all about it on the way to 
Betty’s,” she said, for it had been arranged that 
Betty’s guests should all meet at her house, where 
the wagons would be in readiness to take them 
to a favorite picnic ground, a green sloping field 
on the banks of the Schuylkill River, where 
there were groups of wide-spreading elms and 
where many spring flowers grew. 


OF OLD PHILADELPHIA 147 

Winifred was so eager to hear about the return 
of the candy that she could hardly wait to finish 
her breakfast. Ruth had not lingered after tell¬ 
ing the great news, but had run home to make 
ready for the picnic. 

Gilbert continued to feel uneasy about his 
part in the fairy story, and after Ruth and Wini¬ 
fred had started for the May party he followed 
his mother into the garden and offered to help 
her transplant the young seedlings. 

“ Mother, do you think there is any harm in 
believing in fairies?” he asked, and before his 
mother could reply Gilbert was telling her the 
story. 

“ Ruth seemed more pleased about the fairies 
than she did to get the candy back,” he con¬ 
cluded, “ and I don't think there is any harm 
in fairies, do you ? ” 

“Why, no, Gilbert! I am always hoping 
that they really are true,” replied his mother 
smilingly. 

“Oh, Mother! You are as bad as Ruth,” 
laughed Gilbert; “ but do you think I ought to 
tell Ruth that I hid the candy, and then brought 
it back ? ” 

“ No, not at present. Some time in the future 


A LITTLE MAID 


148 

you can tell Ruth about it, if you wish, but I 
think it would be too bad to spoil her pleasure 
to-day. But perhaps you had better ask Mrs. 
Pennell, and then do whatever she thinks best,” 
replied his mother. 

The thought of telling Mrs. Pennell of his 
mischievous act made Gilbert rather uncom¬ 
fortable, but he responded promptly : 

“ All right, Mother. I’ll go now,” and ran 
toward the house to wash his hands before pre¬ 
senting himself at Mrs. PennelPs door. 

“ So that was it. I could not imagine how it 
happened,” said Mrs. Pennell when Gilbert had 
told of hiding the candy, and of meaning to re¬ 
turn it as a May basket. She agreed with Mrs. 
Merrill that Ruth could be told the facts later 
on, and did not seem to feel that Gilbert’s joke 
had been anything but natural and harmless, so 
Gilbert returned home with an untroubled mind. 

Betty had asked her little guests to be at her 
house at half-past ten o’clock, and when Ruth 
and Winifred came down the street they saw a 
big wagon with two big brown horses standing 
in front of Betty’s house; just behind the big 
wagon was a smaller one which Dinah was 
helping to load with baskets and packages. 


OF OLD PHILADELPHIA 149 

“ That’s the lunch wagon,” said Winifred. 
“Oh, Ruth ! I’m sure we are going to have a 
beautiful time. What do you suppose Betty 
will say when you tell her about the fairies?” 

“ I don’t know. But probably she will think 
she is lucky to have a basket made by fairies,” 
responded Ruth, who did not know the story 
of the basket that she carried so carefully. 

“ I made that basket. Truly I did, Ruth,” 
Winifred declared eagerly. 

Ruth’s smile vanished. She stood still and 
looked at Winifred accusingly. 

“ Then I suppose there weren’t any fairies at 
all ? If you made the basket you probably put 
the candy in it and set it in my garden for me 
to find. And you let me tell you all about 
bowing to the lilac tree, and never said a word,” 
exclaimed Ruth ; “ and I suppose you have been 
laughing at me all the time,” she concluded, a 
little choke coming in her throat at the thought 
that her best friend, as well as the fairies, had 
failed her. 

Before Winifred could say a word Ruth ran 
ahead as fast as she could go. Betty was on the 
steps, and a number of the girls who were going 
on the picnic were with her. She greeted Ruth 


A LITTLE MAID 


150 

warmly, and when Ruth explained that the 
basket was from Winifred and herself Betty was 
greatly pleased. She was looking at the basket 
and box admiringly when Winnie appeared. 

“ Did Ruth tell you that is a fairy present? ” 
she asked eagerly, and at the little chorus of 
laughter and questions, Winifred went on and 
told the story just as Ruth had told it to her, 
while Ruth stood by looking rather sulky and 
unhappy. The moment Winifred finished Ruth 
stepped forward and said : 

“ That’s a good story, but it isn’t true. About 
the fairies, I mean. Not one word of it. And 
Winifred knows it isn’t.” 


CHAPTER XVI 


BETTY AND ANNETTE 

The girls' laughter ceased, and they looked at 
Ruth a little questioningly as if expecting that 
she would explain. But it was Betty who, slip¬ 
ping her arm around Winifred, said pleasantly : 
“ Well, we are all obliged to Winnie for telling 
us such a beautiful story. And I am sure it is 
just what the fairies would do if they happened 
to think of it." 

Winifred looked up at the older girl grate¬ 
fully, but she felt very unhappy. She could 
not understand why Ruth, her very best friend, 
should have turned against her, and denied the 
story. 

Ruth stood, sulky and silent, and a little 
ashamed, as the other guests arrived ; and when 
Betty declared that it was time to start and led 
the way toward the big wagon, Ruth walked 
alone and was the last one of Betty's guests to 
climb up to her seat. 


151 


A LITTLE MAID 


152 

There were ten little girls in the party, and 
Black Jason, Dinah’s husband, was to drive the 
team. Mrs. Hastings sat on the back seat be¬ 
tween Betty and Ruth ; the small wagon with 
the good things for the birthday luncheon 
followed close behind, driven by a friend of 
Jason’s. 

The other girls laughed and talked merrily 
as the big horses trotted briskly through the 
streets leading to the river. But Ruth was 
silent, except when Mrs. Hastings spoke to her; 
then she answered as pleasantly as possible, but 
she had no pleasure in the ride. Now and then 
they passed groups of English soldiers; and as 
they turned into the river road several red- 
coated officers on horseback rode past them. 

“ We wish you a happy May, young ladies,” 
called one of the officers, bowing very low as he 
rode past the wagon filled with happy girls. 

There was no response to his polite saluta¬ 
tion ; for even the children of the historic city 
resented the presence of the English soldiery. 

“ Mother, sing your May-day song,” suggested 
Betty. 

But Mrs. Hastings shook her head laughingly. 

“ I must save that for our dance round the 


OF OLD PHILADELPHIA 153 

May-pole,” she replied, “ and we shall soon be 
at the picnic field now.” 

The field was very near the place where Ruth 
and Winifred had turned into the hill road, 
and the May party reached it after not more 
than an hour's ride. Black Jason drove through 
the field toward the river bank, and stopped 
under a group of tall elms. In a few moments 
the girls were scattered about searching for 
flowers. Black Jason and his friend unloaded 
the lunch wagon, and then Mrs. Hastings called 
the girls to decide on the best place to erect the 
May-pole, a fine birch tree that Black Jason was 
now chopping down. 

“ There are so many good places ! ” exclaimed 
Betty, looking about the smooth field. “1 think 
this is the best,” she decided finally, as, with 
her guests beside her, she stopped near the edge 
of a wood. 

It was just the place for a May-pole, the other 
girls declared, as they looked about; and Black 
Jason and his friend set up the tall birch tree, 
whose green branches were more beautiful than 
any decoration that the girls could have im¬ 
agined. While Mrs. Hastings and Betty spread 
the lunch in the shade of the woods, the other 


A LITTLE MAID 


*54 

girls gathered flowers and wove garlands for 
each other, and talked happily together. Ruth 
found herself seated beside Annette Tennant, a 
girl about Betty’s age. 

“ I will give you my wreath, and you can give 
me yours,” said the older girl. “ You are rather 
young to be asked to this party,” she continued, 
looking at Ruth. 

“I am nearly eleven,” replied Ruth. “ Wini¬ 
fred Merrill isn’t any older than that.” 

“ I noticed there were two little girls,” re¬ 
joined Annette condescendingly. “ You mustn’t 
mind if most of us are older. I always like 
children,” went on Annette, who was even 
taller than Betty Hastings, and whose yellow 
hair was braided neatly and wound around her 
head. 

Ruth made no reply. She was feeling a little 
ashamed that she had declared Winifred’s story 
to be untrue. Even if Winnie had set the 
basket in the garden and let her go about bow¬ 
ing to trees and birds Ruth felt that she herself 
had been rude and unkind. 

“ What made that other child tell all that 
rigmarole about fairies ? ” questioned Annette. 
“ I was glad when you spoke up and said that 


OF OLD PHILADELPHIA 155 

it was not true. Of coarse we older girls knew 
she was making it up.” 

Suddenly Ruth became perfectly sure that 
Winifred had had nothing to do with the dis¬ 
covery of the candy, and that Winifred had 
really believed the fairies had brought it back, 
using her basket for the purpose. 

“ Winifred didn’t make it up,” declared Ruth. 
“ It was exactly as she told it. The fairies did 
take away the candy, and bring it back.” 

Annette stopped weaving the vines and 
flowers, and jumped up. 

“ Well, you are a very funny child. You tell 
us all that Winifred Merrill made up a story, 
and now you tell me that it was true,” she ex¬ 
claimed scornfully. “ You need not give me 
your garland ; I don’t want it, or anything to do 
with you,” and before Ruth could say a word 
in reply Annette had joined a group of the 
older girls, and was evidently telling them her 
opinion of Ruth Pennell. 

Ruth looked down through a blur of tears 
at the wreath she was making. She could 
hardly see the flowers in her lap. 

“ I wish I had stayed at home. I hate 
grown-up girls,” she thought bitterly, wishing 


A LITTLE MAID 


156 

herself in her own garden with Hero and Cecilia 
for playmates. 

The sound of Betty’s voice calling to her 
guests that luncheon was ready made Ruth 
look up. She saw the other girls walking 
toward the shade of the tall elms where Mrs. 
Hastings stood waiting for them. Winifred was 
evidently in high favor; Annette walked on 
one side and Mary Pierce on the other, each with 
an arm about the pleased but somewhat em¬ 
barrassed Winifred. 

“ Ruth 1 Ruthie Pennell! We are all wait¬ 
ing for you/’ called Betty, and Ruth followed 
the others. 

It was evident at once that none of the girls 
meant to sit beside Ruth if it could be avoided. 
Annette had declared that she believed Ruth to 
be a mischief-maker, and untruthful, and that 
it was the duty of the older girls to “ teach her 
a lesson.” 

“ We must let the child realize that older 
girls don’t approve of such things,” Annette 
had said, and the others agreed that the best 
way to express their disapproval was to leave 
Ruth to herself as much as possible. 

Winifred was now more puzzled than ever. 


OF OLD PHILADELPHIA 157 

When Annette had repeated Rath's declaration 
that Winifred’s story was true, that fairies had 
returned the candy, she did not know what to 
think. 

“ I’m sure Ruthie was only fooling,” Winifred 
declared bravely. “ I mean when she said that I 
made up the story about the candy. Because it 
was just what she told me.” 

“ Then the child must be taught that we don’t 
like such fooling,” responded Annette, with 
what she felt was a very grown-up and im¬ 
pressive manner. 

“ Sit here, Ruth,” said Betty, wondering at 
the manner of the older girls, “ and, Winifred, 
come and sit beside her.” 

Winifred was quite ready to change her seat 
as Betty suggested, but Annette’s hand clasped 
her arm, and it was Annette who answered : 
“ Winnie would rather sit here, beside me.” 

“All right,” responded Betty. “Then I’ll 
have Ruthie for my helper. I can always de¬ 
pend on you, Ruth, can’t I ? ” she added, smiling 
at her young friend. 

“ Always,” whispered Ruth, gratefully ; and 
it was she who helped Betty serve the other 
girls with the excellent cold chicken, and bread, 


A LITTLE MAID 


158 

and butter, the jelly-filled tarts, and squares of 
molasses gingerbread, so that Annette's proposed 
“ lesson " bid fair to be defeated. 

“ What's the matter, Ruthie ? " Betty found a 
chance to whisper, as they sat down together a 
little way from the larger group. 

Ruth told the story eagerly. “ I don't know 
why I thought Winnie had put the basket there, 
or why I was so horrid as to say that she told a 
story," confessed the unhappy little girl. “ Do 
you suppose it really was the fairies, Betty ? " 

Betty looked rather sober for a minute. She 
was thinking to herself that her May-day party 
bid fair to be a failure unless her guests could 
realize that Ruth had only made a mistake for 
which she was sorry. She blamed Annette more 
than she did Ruth, feeling sure that Winifred 
and Ruth would have come to a friendly under¬ 
standing if Annette had not interfered. 

“ I have a plan, Ruthie, that perhaps will 
make it all right. Will you do just what I tell 
you ? " 

“ Yes, indeed I will," responded Ruth grate- 
fully. 

Mrs. Hastings had left the girls to themselves 
and gone over to the May-pole. 


OF OLD PHILADELPHIA 159 

“ Come here, Winifred,” called Betty, and 
this time Annette made no objection, and in a 
moment Winifred was sitting beside Ruth, and 
both the little girls were thinking that Betty 
was much nicer than any other “ grown-up ” 
girl in the party. 

“ Ruth Pennell is going to tell us a story,” 
announced Betty. “ She doesn't know if it 
really is true or not. For a little while she 
thought her best friend had taken the part of a 
fairy, but afterward she was sure she had not. 
Now, Ruth,” and Betty turned smilingly toward 
her little friend, “ stand up and tell us all 
about it; about the making my candy, how it 
disappeared, and what you did to recover it. 
Then, when you have finished, we will take a 
vote and see how many of us believe in fairies.” 

For a moment Ruth hesitated, but Winifred's 
friendly smile encouraged her and she stood up. 
She did not look at the group of girls sitting 
about under the trees; she looked straight over 
their heads at the river, and began to speak, 
beginning her story with the discovery that the 
candy had disappeared. She spoke clearly, and 
when she finished by saying that she was sorry 
that she had been rude to Winifred, because she 


160 A LITTLE MAID 

and Winifred both rather believed in fairies, 
there was a little murmur of approval. 

“ Now, girls, all those who believe in fairies 
stand up,” said Betty, jumping to her feet, and 
reaching out a hand to the girls beside her, and 
at the same time beginning to sing: 

“ i Here are fields of smiling flowers — 

Come and seek May in her bowers. 

Catch young May. 

Make her stay; 

Dance around her bright and gay .’ 99 

Nearly all the girls knew the song and joined 
in singing, as hand in hand they ran across the 
smooth grass toward the May-pole, where Mrs. 
Hastings stood waiting for them. And now 
Ruth was her happy, smiling self again, and 
Annette was no longer eager to teach “ lessons ” 
to the younger girls. Annette and Ruth were 
both conscious, however, that Betty, with her 
frank kindness, had smoothed out their mis¬ 
takes. 


CHAPTER XVII 


QUEEN BETTY 

The girls had exchanged their wreaths of 
flowers as they sat down to luncheon, all except¬ 
ing Ruth and Annette, who wore the ones they 
had made themselves, and they now made a 
very attractive picture as they all formed a ring 
around the May-pole, singing an old song that 
their mothers had sung when they too were 
little girls; a May-pole song that had been sung 
in England for hundreds of years. 

u 6 Round the May-pole, trit, trit, trot. 

See what a garland we have got: 

Fine and gay, 

Trip away. 

Happy is our New May Day .’ 99 

“ Now for choosing the May Queen ! ” said 
Mary Pierce, and a little chorus of “ Betty Hast¬ 
ings! Betty Hastings ! ” was the response, and 
Betty curtsied very low, and thanked her guests. 
For “ Maids of Honor ” she chose Ruth and 
161 


162 


A LITTLE MAID 


Winifred, whose duties were to walk one on 
each side of the May Queen on her way to her 
throne, and then kneel beside her until she bade 
them rise. 

While the girls had been at luncheon and 
dancing around the May-pole Black Jason and 
his friend had been busily at work behind some 
thick growing trees near the river. 

“ All ready, Missie! ” he announced, as, hat 
in hand, and bowing low, he came smilingly 
toward the u Queen of the May.” 

A little procession formed to follow Jason, 
who led the way through a woodland path to 
a clearing that opened toward the river. In 
this clearing stood a big rustic chair, Betty’s 
“ throne.” 

Ruth and Winifred handed the Queen to her 
seat with great ceremony, and then one after 
another the girls approached the throne, curtsy¬ 
ing low and laying their garlands at Betty’s feet. 
Now they joined hands in a little circle and 
danced around the throne, singing : 

a 1 The First of May is garland day, 

And every child should dance and play. 

Curl your locks as I do mine, 

And wear your summer gown so fine. ’ ” 



4 < 


> y 


THE FIRST OF MAY IS GARLAND DAY 





















OF OLD PHILADELPHIA 163 

The Queen of the May asks any favor she 
pleases from the throne, but as soon as she 
leaves the throne her power ceases; so now the 
group of laughing girls stood waiting to hear 
what the Queen would ask : 

4 ‘ A wreath and a staff 
And a cap to quaff,” 

demanded Betty smilingly, and away raced her 
loyal subjects to fulfil the royal demand. 

It was Annette who brought the wreath of 
violets; Mary Pierce came with a curving branch 
that Jason had cut from a maple tree and 
trimmed into a staff, while Caroline Fraser 
brought a cup of cool water from the spring 
under the willow tree. 

“ We must soon be thinking of home,” Mrs. 
Hastings reminded them, as the girls, now 
flushed and a little tired, seated themselves about 
the throne, from which Betty had descended. 

“ You have not sung your May-day song, 
Mother! ” Betty reminded her, and the girls 
now gathered about Mrs. Hastings, repeating 
Betty’s request. 

“ But it isn’t really 4 my ’ song; it is an old 
English May song,” Mrs. Hastings said. 


164 


A LITTLE MAID 


u 1 Spring is coming, Spring is coming, 

Flowers are coming too ; 

Pansies, lilies, daffodilies, 

Now are coming through. 

u ‘ Spring is coming, Spring is coming, 

All around is fair; 

Shimmer and quiver on the river 
Joy is everywhere . 9 19 

As she finished singing Mrs. Hastings curtsied 
to the happy group, and said: 

“ I wish you a happy May.” 

When Black Jason drove the brown horses 
into the field, and the girls took their seats in 
the wagon, they all declared it was the best May- 
day party they had ever known, and they all 
thought Betty Hastings was the most fortunate 
of girls that her birthday came on the first day 
of May. 

“ How would you and Winifred like to sit 
with Jason on the front seat, Ruth ? ” asked 
Mrs. Hastings, and the two little friends smiled 
at each other, and replied that they would like 
it very much, and so were lifted to the high seat 
beside the good-natured Jason. 

“ I almost spoiled everything,” Ruth whis- 


OF OLD PHILADELPHIA 165 

pered to Winifred, “ but Betty made it come out 
all right. I like Betty.’' 

“ So do I,” responded Winifred, and they 
smiled at each other again, both quite sure that 
they would never again come so near to a 
quarrel as they had that May-day. 

As they drove past a square stone house whose 
gardens sloped down to the river, Black Jason 
pointed toward it with his whip and said : “ Dat 
de house where Capt’n Delaney live, an’ he an’ 
de oder fine English soldiers are gettin’ up a 
great party, a kind of show like.” 

The girls looked well at the house from which 
Betty had so skilfully made her escape on the 
night following Gilbert’s play. 

“ Are they going to have the party in that 
house, Jason ? ” asked Ruth. 

“ Landy ! No, Missie. It's to be out to Master 
Wharton’s fine place in Southwark. Folks do 
say as General Sir Willum Howe be gwine 
to leave dis place. They certain do say so,” 
and Jason chuckled with satisfaction at the 
thought. 

“ Then will General Washington and La¬ 
fayette come here, Jason?” questioned Ruth 
eagerly. 


166 


A LITTLE MAID 


“1 dunno, Missie. Bat I reckon de English 
gwine to have a mighty fine party. Dere 
gwine to have bands o’ music in boats on de 
river. Yas'm," and Jason chuckled at the 
thought of all the great preparations that had 
already begun for the most splendid pageant 
that America had seen, and about which the 
people of Philadelphia were wondering, for the 
English officers were making elaborate plans. 

“ I wish I could drive two horses/' said Ruth, 
looking a little longingly at the reins and whip 
that Jason so skilfully held in one hand. 

“ Landy, Missie ! Yo' jes’ take hold de reins 
like dis," responded Jason, at the same moment 
clasping Ruth's hands over the leather reins. 
“ Now hole 'em stiddy." 

Ruth obeyed Jason's instructions to “ look 
straight ahead, an' hole ’em up stiddy," and it 
was the happiest part of all that happy May-day 
to be driving Jason’s brown horses, with the 
other girls singing and laughing on the seats 
behind her. But as they turned from the river 
road into the town Jason again took the reins. 
The girls were now carried each to her own 
home, so Winifred and Ruth were set down at 
the Merrills' door. 


OF OLD PHILADELPHIA 167 

“ We have had a beautiful time, Betty. We 
shall always remember your birthday/ 7 declared 
Ruth, and Winnie repeated the words. 

Betty smiled and waved her hand; she real¬ 
ized that her two little friends were thanking 
her for more than their happy May-day. 

Hero welcomed Ruth home, and seemed to 
be trying to tell her something. He ran around 
her, barking and whining. 

“ What is it, Hero? What is the matter? 
Where is my mother? ” she asked, as she pushed 
open the door of the sitting-room and found it 
vacant. 

“ Mother ! 77 she called, running into the din¬ 
ing-room, and then heard her mother's voice 
calling from the kitchen : 

“Come out here, Rutliie ! 77 

Ruth stopped in the doorway with an excla¬ 
mation of surprise. 

“ Oh, Mother ! What is it ? 77 she asked, for 
Mrs. Pennell was sitting in a low chair near the 
window, with one foot resting on a stool. 

“ I have sprained my ankle, Ruthie. I slipped 
coming in from the porch about an hour ago, 
and could just manage to crawl to this chair, 77 
replied Mrs. Pennell; “ and now you will have 


168 


A LITTLE MAID 


to be * mother ’ for a time. Tie my apron over 
your dress, and start up the fire, and fill the big 
kettle with water.” 

Ruth obeyed quickly, and in a few moments 
had carried out her mother's directions, bring¬ 
ing a small wooden tub in which to turn the 
water when it should be heated. She could 
think of nothing but that her mother must be 
in pain, as she drew off Mrs. Pennell's slipper 
and stocking, filled the tub, and now gently 
bathed the swollen ankle. 

“ Remember, Ruthie, dear, when any one has 
the ill-fortune to sprain wrist or ankle, that hot 
water is the best aid,” Mrs. Pennell said, as she 
directed the way in which Ruth should bandage 
the ankle. 

“ I am afraid I am going to make a good deal 
of work for my little girl. We must try and 
send for your Aunt Clara to come as soon as 
possible,” she added. 

But Ruth did not mind the work ; as she 
went from pantry to fireplace, preparing toast 
and a dish of hot gruel for her mother her 
thoughts flew away to Aunt Deborah at Barren 
Hill, to the lustre cup out of which Lafayette 
had drunk, and she realized that she could not 


OF OLD PHILADELPHIA 169 

go away from home now that her mother was 
lame. 

After supper the ankle was bathed again, and 
now Mrs. Pennell thought it best that Ruth 
should run in and tell Mrs. Merrill of the acci¬ 
dent, and ask her assistance. For she found 
herself unable to walk. 

Mrs. Merrill came at once, and with her aid 
Mrs. Pennell was able to reach the big sofa in 
the sitting-room where she was made comfort¬ 
able for the night. 

“ I will send Gilbert to Germantown early in 
the morning to fetch your sister/ 7 said Mrs. 
Merrill, as she bade her neighbor good-night. 

“ It is fortunate that Ruth had not started for 
her visit to Barren Hill/ 7 she added. 

“ It is, indeed. I could hardly spare her 
now/ 7 Mrs. Pennell responded. 

Ruth listened with a feeling that there would 
never be any more happy days. Her mother 
was lame; she could not go to Barren Hill, and 
all her plans for visiting her father at Valley 
Forge, and perhaps seeing the brave young La¬ 
fayette, must be given up. 

As she went slowly up-stairs to bed, she had 
almost forgotten the happy birthday picnic near 


170 A LITTLE MAID 

the river. But she recalled what Black Jason 
had said of the rumor that General Howe was 
soon to leave Philadelphia. Just now, however, 
that seemed to be of little importance to Ruth. 
Her last waking thought was that she must be 
sure to get up early, very early, the next morn¬ 
ing and have hot water ready to bathe the hurt 
ankle. 


CHAPTER XVIII 


A GREAT RESOLVE 

Although Ruth was up in good season the 
next morning, she had only started the kitchen 
fire when Mrs. Merrill and Gilbert appeared at 
the kitchen door with a basket containing break¬ 
fast for Mrs. Pennell and Ruth. 

Gilbert was all ready to start for his drive to 
Germantown, and, after a few words with Mrs. 
Pennell, hurried away. 

Mrs. Merrill bathed the sprained ankle and 
helped Ruth's mother to a comfortable chair 
near the window. 

“ May I not put the little table by your chair, 
Mother, and have my breakfast here with 
you ? " asked Ruth. 

“ Yes, indeed I That is exactly what I was 
wishing you to do, my dear," responded Mrs. 
Pennell; and Ruth ran away to the kitchen 
and brought in the hot corn bread that Mrs. 
Merrill had brought, the dish of porridge and 
the pot of steaming coffee. Then she drew a 
171 


A LITTLE MAID 


172 

chair up opposite her mother, and they smiled 
happily at each other across the small table. 

Mrs. Pennell declared that her foot was much 
better. 

“ I am sure your Aunt Clara will return with 
Gilbert/' she continued, “ but even then I am 
afraid you will have to do a good deal more 
than ever before, Rutliie, dear, for Aunt Clara 
is not yet fully recovered from her illness." 

Ruth felt rather proud to know that her 
mother relied upon her to be of so much help, 
and, for the moment, quite forgot the visit to 
Barren Hill. She told her mother of all the 
delights of Betty’s May-day party, and when she 
carried the breakfast dishes out to the kitchen 
she was almost her happy self again. 

Winifred came over and helped Ruth with 
the household work that morning, and early in 
the afternoon Aunt Clara arrived ; who, in spite 
of Mrs. Pennell’s fears in regard to her strength, 
declared herself quite equal to taking care of 
her sister and attending to the work of the 
house. 

Nevertheless Ruth was kept busy for a num¬ 
ber of days ; she did not go very far from her 
mother’s sitting-room, and Mrs. Pennell said 


OF OLD PHILADELPHIA 173 

that her little daughter was “ hands and feet ” 
for her lame mother. 

Mrs. Pennell's fingers were busy making a 
dress for Ruth. It was of white linen that 
Aunt Deborah had woven herself, and brought 
as a present to Ruth, and Mrs. Pennell was 
hemstitching the broad collar and dainty cuffs. 

“ Your Aunt Deborah will be pleased if you 
have the dress to wear when you visit her," said 
Mrs. Pennell, a few days after her accident, 
when Ruth sat beside her, both busy with their 
needles. 

“ But I can't go to Barren Hill, Mother. 
You couldn't spare me," replied Ruth. 

“ Of course you must go to Barren Hill. Not 
just at present; but in a week or two I shall be 
hobbling about the house, and your Aunt Clara 
will stay with me while you are away," said 
Mrs. Pennell. 

“ Truly ? Am I really to go to Barren Hill ? " 
exclaimed Ruth, dropping her work, and jump¬ 
ing up from her chair. “ Oh ! I'm so glad." 

Mrs. Pennell looked at her little girl in sur¬ 
prise. She had had no idea how much Ruth had 
counted on this visit, nor with what disappoint¬ 
ment she had given it up. 


J 74 


A LITTLE MAID 


“ Why, my dear child, you have not said a 
word about your visit since I hurt my ankle. 
I had not an idea that you wished to go so 
much,” she said. 

“ I didn’t wish to go when you couldn’t take 
a step,” Ruth declared. 

“ Well! I think it is almost worth while to 
have a sprained ankle to find out what a good 
little daughter I have,” said her mother. “ I 
feel very proud indeed. And now I think you 
had best put on your hat and go and make 
Betty Hastings an afternoon visit. It is nearly 
a week since her May party.” 

“ I will ask Winifred to go, too,” said Ruth 
eagerly, feeling happier than she had since her 
mother’s accident. 

“ You had best change your dress, dear; put 
on your blue chambray,” suggested her mother, 
and Ruth ran off to her own room, singing, 
“ Joy is everywhere,” as gaily as she had sung 
it when dancing around Betty’s throne. 

In a little while she was back in the sitting- 
room, all ready for her visit. In the pretty 
blue dress, and wearing a white hat with a blue 
ribbon around the crown, and with her white 
stockings and low shoes with shining silver 


OF OLD PHILADELPHIA 175 

buckles, Ruth was indeed a little girl of whom 
any mother might be proud. 

Winifred was soon ready to accompany her, 
and the two friends started on their walk to see 
Betty Hastings. 

As they came in sight of the Hastings house 
they both exclaimed in surprise. For on the 
steps was Betty, wearing her best hat, and the 
tall English officer, whose red coat Betty had 
borrowed for Gilbert’s play, stood beside her. 

“ Do you suppose Betty is a prisoner ? ” 
whispered Winnie, a little fearfully. 

“ Of course she isn’t, all dressed up in her 
best,” replied Ruth, and at that moment Betty 
saw her two friends and waved her hand to 
them as she came down the steps beside the 
English officer. 

“ Oh, Winifred I Ruth ! I am so glad you 
came. Now you can go with us to Walnut 
Grove and see the English officers practising 
for their tournament. Captain Harlow says you 
may go,” she exclaimed, running forward to 
meet them. 

Before Ruth or Winifred could reply the tall 
officer was beside Betty, and she now introduced 
him to her friends. Ruth and Winnie curtsied, 


A LITTLE MAID 


176 

with rather sober faces, and the Englishman 
bowed politely, and said that he should be happy 
to have Ruth and Winifred accompany them. 

The young Englishman had lodged with Mrs. 
Hastings ever since the September day when the 
English army entered Philadelphia. He had 
been unfailingly kind to all the family, and 
when he offered to take Betty to Walnut Grove 
to see the preparations already well under way 
for the “ Mischianza,” as the soldiers named 
their famous entertainment to be given in honor 
of General Howe, Mrs. Hastings was quite will¬ 
ing for Betty to go. 

“ We shall be home in good season. I am sure 
your mothers would be willing,” urged Betty, 
“ and Twill be a fine sight to-day, since the sol¬ 
diers are to rehearse,.as we did for Gilbert’s play.” 

“ Let’s go, Ruth,” Winifred whispered eagerly, 
and Ruth agreed, but with a vague feeling that 
she ought not to wish to be entertained by the 
amusements of America’s enemies. 

As they walked on toward Knight’s Wharf, 
at the water edge of Green Street, where a boat 
was waiting to take Captain Harlow and his 
guests down the river to Mr. Wharton’s country 
place, Ruth kept repeating the word “ tourna- 


OF OLD PHILADELPHIA 177 

ment” to herself, and wondering what it meant. 
Betty must know, she thought, for she had 
spoken it so easily. She resolved to ask her at 
the first opportunity. 

A rowboat with two sailors was waiting for 
the captain, and he helped the little girls to 
the comfortable seats, and took his place at the 
tiller, and with a word to the oarsmen the boat 
moved out from the wharf and headed toward 
Southwark. 

“ What does ‘ tournament' mean, Betty?” 
Ruth whispered. 

“ Wait and see,” laughed Betty. 

“ Does it mean the same as 'rehearsal'?” 
persisted Ruth. 

“ Not exactly,” replied Betty, who only that 
very morning had asked her mother the same 
question. “ It really means a make-believe 
battle,” she explained, seeing Ruth's look of 
disappointment. “ Men dress up in armor, 
such as soldiers used to wear, and their horses 
wear shields, and the men have long spears, and 
make-believe attack each other.” 

“ Shall we see that to-day?” Ruth questioned. 

But before Betty could answer she realized 
that Captain Harlow was speaking. 


A LITTLE MAID 


178 

“I suppose you all know what the Knights 
of the days of Chivalry fought for?” he was 
saying, with a friendly smile at the three little 
American girls who were his guests. 

“ What are * Knights ’ ? ” questioned Winifred. 

“Can you answer that, Miss Betty?” asked 
the captain. 

“ Mother told me that a knight was a brave 
soldier, whose king gave him a sword, and then 
said : * Arise, Sir Knight/ ” replied Betty, while 
Ruth and Winifred listened admiringly, think¬ 
ing their friend Betty must be the most clever 
girl in Philadelphia. 

“ Well, that is near enough,” replied the 
young officer, “ but I will tell you that in olden 
times knights used to have tilts, or tourna¬ 
ments, such as we mean to have on the eight¬ 
eenth of this month. White Knights against 
the Knights of the Blended Rose.” 

It all sounded very wonderful to the three 
little girls, and Ruth was eager to reach South¬ 
wark, fearing that they might miss some part of 
this rehearsal. 

The beautiful river was very still that pleasant 
afternoon in May, and the boat moved rapidly 
along, now and then passing some fishing-craft 


OF OLD PHILADELPHIA 179 

or pleasure boat, and the little girls smiled 
happily at each other, thinking that this indeed 
was a great adventure. 

As the boat drew near the landing place, they 
could see a number of people on the wharf, and 
one of these Ruth at once recognized as Major 
Andre, the young officer who had introduced 
her to General Howe on the night when she 
had gone to demand the return of Hero. 

Captain Harlow led the little girls to a bench 
on the further side of Mr. Wharton’s beautiful 
lawn. “ Stay here until I come after you,” he 
said and hurried away. 

The girls looked about admiringly. Just 
across the lawn from where they were sitting 
men were at work on a pavilion, in which the 
guests would be seated to view the “ Mis- 
chianza.” Soldiers on horseback were riding 
back and forth, and a trumpet call sent them 
all trotting away, to return immediately with 
long lances and shields on their left arms. 
Forming in two divisions they galloped for¬ 
ward and back, turning so quickly that Ruth 
and Betty both exclaimed, fearful that the 
riders would be thrown. 

In a little while Captain Harlow came and 


180 A LITTLE MAID 

took his guests to visit the ballroom. From 
the garden they ascended a short flight of steps, 
and entered a spacious hall, lined with mirrors. 
Never had the little girls seen anything so won¬ 
derful. Wherever they looked they saw Betty, 
Ruth, and Winifred all smiling with delight. 
Captain Harlow called a servant, and in a few 
moments the man returned with a silver tray 
on which were plates of candied fruits, cakes, 
and glasses of lemonade for his little guests. 

“ It's more wonderful than the May-day 
party,” whispered Winifred. 

But Ruth did not hear her. For at that mo- 
ment two officers had entered the room. 

“ Sir Henry Clinton will arrive to-morrow, 
and General Howe will soon be on his way to 
England,” she heard one of them say. 

“ ’Tis a pity he cannot capture young Lafay¬ 
ette and take him back to England with him. 
King George would give him a royal welcome,” 
responded the other. 

“ There is some such plan afoot,” declared 
the first speaker. 

“ ‘ Capture Lafayette ! } ” Ruth whispered the 
dreadful words over to herself and all her de¬ 
light and pleasure vanished. These men, even 


OF OLD PHILADELPHIA 181 


the kind Captain Harlow, whom the Hastings 
liked so well, would try their best to capture the 
young French Republican, America’s best friend, 
and take him to England a prisoner. Ruth 
could think of nothing else. She wondered if 
perhaps there was not already some plan by 
which Lafayette would be captured. She was 
very silent all the remainder of the afternoon, 
and Betty decided that Ruth must be tired. 

But they all thanked the captain very po¬ 
litely for their pleasant visit, as he helped them 
from the boat and walked with them to Mrs. 
Hastings’ door. Ruth was eager to get home. 
She meant to ask her mother if she might not 
go to Barren Hill very soon, perhaps to-mor¬ 
row. It seemed to her she could hardly wait 
that long ; for who could tell what the English 
soldiers might do before warning could reach 
Lafayette ? 

For Ruth had made a great resolve: she 
would try to let Lafayette know that the English 
General meant to do his best to take him a pris¬ 
oner to England. Once at Barren Hill Ruth 
was sure that she could find some way to reach 
Washington’s camp and warn the young 
Frenchman. 


CHAPTER XIX 


THE VISIT 

Ruth's mother and aunt listened to her ac¬ 
count of her afternoon's adventure with interest, 
but when she had finished her mother said : 

“ I do not blame you, my dear, for accepting 
Betty's invitation, but I am surprised that Mrs. 
Hastings should permit an enemy of America's 
rights to become a friend, as it is evident she so 
regards the young English officer who lodges 
there.” 

In her heart Ruth agreed with her mother. 
It seemed disloyal even to have accepted Betty’s 
invitation. Nevertheless Ruth was glad that 
she had gone to Southwark ; for the conversation 
she had overheard in regard to Lafayette seemed 
of great importance to the little girl. She did 
not speak to any one of what she had heard the 
English officers say, but she could not explain 
even to herself why she had not at once told 
Winnie, or why she did not now tell her mother. 
It seemed to Ruth that it was a secret which 
182 


OF OLD PHILADELPHIA 183 

she could confide only to one person : to Lafay¬ 
ette himself. 

“ May I go to Barren Hill to-morrow, Mother, 
dear ? ” she asked earnestly, as she bade her 
mother good-night. 

“ Why, Ruthie ! Of course not I Your things 
are not ready, and we have not sent Aunt Deb¬ 
orah word to have Farmer Withely call for 
you,” replied her mother in surprise. “ Why are 
you so anxious to go to-morrow ? ” 

0 Oh, Mother ! Never mind about my things. 
And I am sure Farmer Withely will take me,” 
urged Ruth. 

“ But do you think it will be quite fair to 
Aunt Clara ? ” said Mrs. Pennell gravely. “ You 
know there are many things you can do to help 
her until I am on my feet again. Be patient, 
Ruthie. You shall go to Barren Hill as soon as 
it is possible.” 

Ruth was ready to cry with disappointment 
as she went up-stairs to bed. For a moment she 
had been tempted to tell her mother her reason 
for wanting to go at once to Barren Hill, but 
she realized that her mother might say that a 
little girl could do nothing to protect a great 
soldier, and forbid her making any attempt to 


A LITTLE MAID 


184 

reach the young Frenchman only to repeat the 
careless talk of English soldiers. 

“ I must do it myself, in some way. I must 1 ” 
thought Ruth as she prepared for bed. She 
wondered if Aunt Clara would not help her in 
her plan to go to Barren Hill. 

Ruth was late to breakfast the next morning, 
and Aunt Clara wondered a little at her sober 
face, while Mrs. Pennell was troubled, thinking 
that Ruth was brooding over her disappoint¬ 
ment in not going to Barren Hill. 

The little girl performed her usual household 
duties ; but when her mother suggested that she 
should go and play with Winifred, she shook 
her head. 

In the afternoon she went into the yard 
with Hero and “ Cecilia ” to the seat under the 
maple tree. Aunt Clara noticed that the little 
girl sat looking across the garden as if her 
thoughts were far away, neglecting Cecilia, and 
paying no attention to the faithful Hero. 

“ I am afraid Ruthie is going to be ill,” she 
said to Mrs. Pennell. “ She has not seemed like 
herself since she got home from her visit yester¬ 
day.” 

Mrs. Pennell was quite sure that Ruth was 


OF OLD PHILADELPHIA 185 

not ill, but she was troubled that her little 
daughter should be so disappointed and unwill¬ 
ing to postpone the visit to Aunt Deborah. 

“ Her heart is set on going to Barren HilJ, 
and I have told her she must wait a while,” she 
explained. 

“ But why not let her go now ? 99 suggested 
Aunt Clara. “ She is a good and helpful child, 
and deserves the pleasure. I can make her 
things ready.” 

It did not take much persuasion for Mrs. 
Pennell to give her consent, and when Ruth 
came slowly into the sitting-room, in response 
to Aunt Clara’s call, her mother said: 

“ Well, my dear, your Aunt Clara says that 
you well deserve to start for Barren Hill as soon 
as she can make you ready. So be on the out¬ 
look for Farmer Withely to-morrow morning, 
and ask him to call for you on Thursday, and 
to tell Aunt Deborah to expect you.” 

Ruth’s face had brightened as her mother 
began to speak, but as Mrs. Pennell finished she 
was again almost ready to cry. 

Thursday ’! ” she repeated. “ That’s two 
whole days to wait! Why can’t I go to-mor¬ 
row ? ” she said anxiously. 


186 


A LITTLE MAID 


Mrs. Pennell looked at Ruth in surprise. 
Never before had she known her little daughter 
to whine, or seem to want her own way more 
than anything else. 

“ What is the matter, Ruth ? I thought you 
would be so glad that your Aunt Clara had 
persuaded me to let you go so soon. If you say 
anything about going before Thursday we shall 
give up the visit altogether,” she said. 

Ruth hardly knew what to say or do. It 
seemed to the little girl that her delay in start¬ 
ing for Barren Hill meant the possibility of the 
capture of Lafayette. She was tempted to tell 
her mother the reason for wishing to start at 
once, but she was sure Mrs. Pennell would 
promptly forbid her carrying out her plan to 
visit Valley Forge. 

Ruth managed to thank her mother for per¬ 
mission to go on Thursday, and to say that she 
would be sure and see Farmer Withely and 
give him the message the next morning, and 
then went back to her seat in the garden. She 
had just taken up Cecilia, when the garden gate 
was pushed open and Winifred came running 
up the path. 

“ Gilbert says he is ashamed of me ! ” declared 


OF OLD PHILADELPHIA 187 

Winifred, “ and of you, and of Betty Hastings, 
for going to Southwark yesterday,” and she 
looked at Ruth a little fearfully, as if expecting 
her friend to be quite overcome by Gilbert’s dis¬ 
approval. 

“ I don’t care if he is,” was Ruth’s surprising 
reply. “ I am glad I went, and I always shall 
be glad. And perhaps some day Gilbert will be 
glad too.” 

“ Why, Ruth Pennell I ” exclaimed Winifred. 

“ You tell him just what I say,” insisted 
Ruth, beginning to feel more cheerful at the 
thought of Gilbert’s surprise when he should 
discover that she had saved Lafayette from 
capture through her visit to Southwark. After 
all, Thursday was only the day after to-morrow, 
she reflected, and the English were too much 
occupied in their welcome to Sir Henry Clinton 
to start off to capture the young Frenchman. 
Besides that encouraging thought Winifred had 
brought over a box filled with beads. They 
were wonderful beads—blue, all shades of blue, 
and sparkling red beads, and beads of shining 
green, and white beads as clear as dew-drops. 

“ You may pick out those you like best,” said 
the generous Winnie, “ enough to make you a 


188 


A LITTLE MAID 


necklace, and one for Cecilia, too,” and the two 
little girls were soon happily occupied with the 
beads, and Ruth forgot all about her fears lest 
her warning should come too late. But when 
Winifred jumped up saying that it was time for 
her to go home, Ruth remembered that she had 
not told Winnie that she was to go to Barren 
Hill on Thursday. 

“ Oh, Ruth! Then you won’t see all the 
processions for Captain Harlow’s entertainment. 
And he said this morning when I went over to 
see Betty that we could go down again, the very 
day before it is given,” exclaimed Winifred. 

“ I wouldn’t go if I were at home,” declared 
Ruth, “but don’t you tell Gilbert that I said I 
wouldn't go. You tell him what I said first: 
‘ that I am glad I went, and I always shall be 
glad. And that perhaps some day he will be 
glad too that I went to Southwark.' ” 

Winifred promised to deliver the message. 
She did not suppose it had any special meaning, 
but she was sure it would puzzle Gilbert. 

The next day was a busy one for Ruth. 
Farmer Withely promised to call for her on 
Thursday afternoon, and wondered to himself 
why the little girl was so eager to visit Barren 


OF OLD PHILADELPHIA 189 

Hill. Mrs. Pennell finished the white linen 
dress, while Ruth helped Aunt Clara in the 
work of the house, packed the small leathern 
trunk, which was to accompany her on her 
journey, and last of all dressed Cecilia in her 
best, for she had decided, at Aunt Clara's sug¬ 
gestion, that Cecilia needed a visit to the 
country. 

Mrs. Pennell could now walk a little, and not 
until Thursday morning did Ruth have a single 
doubt in regard to going away from home. 
But as the time of her departure drew near she 
kept close beside her mother, and when Aunt 
Clara called that Farmer Withely was driving 
down the street Ruth was suddenly quite sure 
that she could not go and leave her mother be¬ 
hind. 

“ Oh, Mother ! I don't wish to go," she ex¬ 
claimed, her arms close about her mother’s 
neck. 

Mrs. Pennell held her close, telling her of the 
beautiful time she would have with Aunt Deb¬ 
orah. “ And, who knows! You may see 
Lafayette himself," she added, knowing how 
great a hero the young Frenchman seemed to 
all American children, as well as to their elders. 


190 


A LITTLE MAID 


“ I shall come home soon,” Ruth answered 
earnestly, and then Aunt Clara called that 
Farmer Withely was waiting, and with one 
more good-bye kiss Ruth ran down the steps, 
and in a few moments was seated beside the 
farmer, while the big horse trotted down the 
street. 

Aunt Clara had put a box on the wagon seat 
beside Ruth. “ Open it when you are half-way 
to your journey’s end,” she had said smilingly, 
and Farmer Withely had smiled also, and 
nodded approvingly, thinking to himself that 
he had no better customers than the Pennell 
family, and being quite sure of the appetizing 
contents of the box. 

As they drove out of the town, past the stone 
house, and on to the river road Ruth pointed 
out the field, where the May-pole was still stand¬ 
ing, and told the farmer all the May-day sports 
and songs. 

“ Perhaps you could remember some of those 
songs, Miss Ruth ? Now, if you could, I should 
admire to hear them,” said Farmer Withely. 

“ Yes, indeed ! I remember every one,” said 
Ruth, and when she began Mrs. Hastings’ song, 
Farmer Withely found that it was one he too 





THE BIG HORSE TROTTED DOWN THE STREET 
































OF OLD PHILADELPHIA 191 

used to sing as a boy on far-off May-days, and 
so they sang it together, their voices falling 
pleasantly on the sweet spring air. 

Then Ruth ventured to ask if Farmer Withely 
had ever seen General Washington, or, per¬ 
haps, young Lafayette ? 

“ Indeed I have. My best gray horse has now 
the honor of belonging to General Washington, 
and many a cold journey have I taken to carry 
food to the soldiers at Valley Forge/' responded 
Farmer Withely, and he went on to tell of the 
unfaltering courage of the American soldiers 
through the hardships at the camp. 

He told of young Lafayette's recent return to 
Valley Forge from Albany, and of his devotion 
to the American cause. Ruth listened eagerly 
to all he had to tell her, and the miles slipped 
away behind them, and when Farmer Withely 
pointed toward the old church, which stood 
near the summit of Barren Hill, and said that 
they had nearly reached their journey's end, 
Ruth declared that it had been a very pleasant 
journey, and Farmer Withely said he would 
like just such a passenger every day. 

Aunt Deborah Farleigh was at the gate to 
welcome her little niece, and then Ruth had to 


A LITTLE MAID 


192 

be taken and introduced to the bees, and to see 
two brown calves in the barnyard, and a flock 
of fine chickens. After that it was nearly dusk 
and supper was ready, and it was not until 
Ruth took her seat at the table that she re¬ 
membered her real errand to Barren Hill. 

“ Aunt Deborah, the English have not cap¬ 
tured Lafayette, have they ? " she asked ear¬ 
nestly. 

For once Aunt Deborah was startled from her 
usual calmness. 

“ For pity's sake, child ! What dost thou 
mean?" she responded. “I have heard naught 
of such a thing." 

Ruth gave a sigh of relief. “ I just wanted to 
be sure," she replied. 


CHAPTER XX 
Lafayette’s visit 


The May sun streamed warmly into the big 
square chamber where Ruth slept, and she 
awoke to the song of birds, and the fragrance 
of blossoming lilacs. 

For a few moments she lay quite still, looking 
wonderingly about the room. It seemed a 
“ shining ” room to Ruth, with its whitewashed 
walls, and its smooth polished floor, and only 
a chest of drawers, a light-stand and a rush- 
bottomed chair for furniture. 

She got up and dressed slowly, wondering if 
her mother missed her very much, and if Hero 
would go scratching and whining to her door in 
search of his little mistress. Aunt Deborah’s 
house was much larger than the little brick 
house which was Ruth’s home in Philadelphia, 
and as Ruth came slowly down the wide stairs 
she thought what a fine house it would be for 
little girls to live in ; there seemed so much 
room and so little furniture. 

193 


A LITTLE MAID 


194 

Aunt Deborah lived alone, but the Withely 
farm adjoined hers, and Farmer Withely took 
care of her farm and stock. 

“ Good-morning, Ruth,” said Aunt Deborah 
with her sunny smile, as her little niece came 
into the big kitchen to find breakfast awaiting 
her. “ I trust thy pleasure in being here is as 
great as mine in having thee. And I have great 
news for thee. Thy dear father came over from 
Valley Forge a week ago, and was sorry enough 
to find thee not here. And he had great tidings 
for me. He says that France has now joined 
with America in the war against England, and 
Washington hopes for great aid from so power¬ 
ful an ally.” 

“ Oh, Aunt Deborah ! Won’t my father come 
again ? ” responded Ruth. “ May I not go to 
Valley Forge to see him ? ” 

“ It may be that he will come again,” Aunt 
Deborah replied thoughtfully. “And who 
knows but he may come with Lafayette ! For 
General Washington is sending scouting parties 
about the country to discover the plans of the 
English. So any day we may see the troops of 
either arm} r come marching up the road.” 

Ruth was almost too excited to eat her break- 


OF OLD PHILADELPHIA 195 

fast after listening to Aunt Deborah’s news, and 
even the sight of the pink lustre cup from which 
Lafayette had drunk seemed of little conse¬ 
quence. If English soldiers came marching 
that way Ruth knew well that their purpose 
would be to capture American scouting parties, 
and she became more eager than ever to go to 
Valley Forge, and again asked Aunt Deborah 
if she could not go. But Aunt Deborah 
promptly responded that such a visit was im¬ 
possible. 

“ ’Tis a ride of over ten miles, and a ford to 
cross,” she said. “ Farmer Withely has no spare 
time at present to take thee; besides that, Gen¬ 
eral Washington does not care for visitors.” 

Ruth looked so disappointed that Aunt Deb¬ 
orah added : “ And who knows what day Lafay¬ 
ette may ride this way again ? It may even be 
this very morning! Take thy doll and walk to 
the church; from there thou canst see both 
ways. If the English redcoats come along the 
river road thee must hasten back and tell me, 
so that we may start some one off at once to 
warn our American soldiers.” 

“ Might I go? ” asked Ruth. 

“ How could a small girl like thee cross the 


A LITTLE MAID 


196 

Schuylkill ? ” questioned Aunt Deborah. “ Tis 
most likely I should have to go myself.” 

Ruth now felt that she could really be of use 
if she kept watch from the top of Barren Hill, 
and she ran through the garden, and climbed 
up the rough slope to the little square church, 
from whose steps she could watch the quiet road 
which curved along by the woods to the river¬ 
side. She thought of Hero, and wished it had 
been possible to bring him with her. “ Just for 
company/' she whispered to herself, for she be¬ 
gan to feel that she was a long way from home. 

“ Unless Father or Lafayette comes to-day I 
must go to Valley Forge to-morrow/' she re¬ 
solved. 

But the day passed without a sign of any ad¬ 
vancing troops, and at supper-time Ruth was so 
quiet and sober that Aunt Deborah began to 
fear that her little niece was homesick, and 
tried to amuse her by telling her of a tame 
squirrel who lived in the wood-shed and had 
made friends with a family of kittens. But the 
little girl did not seem interested; she wanted to 
know if the water was very deep at Matson’s 
ford, and how long it would take to walk to 
Valley Forge; until Aunt Deborah wondered if 


OF OLD PHILADELPHIA 197 

Ruth really thought such a journey possible for 
a little girl. She recalled the visit Ruth had 
made to the English General in order to rescue 
Hero, and said to herself that she was sure Ruth 
would not again undertake any plan without 
asking permission. 

“ Ill wait until to-morrow,” Ruth resolved, 
as she went to bed that night. “1 mustn’t wait 
any longer,” and comforted by that resolution 
she was soon fast asleep. 

She awoke before daylight, to find Aunt Deb¬ 
orah standing beside the bed. 

“ Get up, my dear child. Lose no time. 
General Lafayette is below, and I am preparing 
his breakfast,” she said. 

“ Oh, Aunt Deborah ! ” exclaimed Ruth, sure 
that this was a dream from which she would 
soon awake. 

“ Hasten, child, if thou wouldst see him,” and 
Aunt Deborah, candle in hand, disappeared 
from the shadowy room. 

Ruth dressed more quickly than ever before, 
but she did not neglect to brush her hair neatly, 
but not until she opened the kitchen door did 
she realize that the strings to her stout leather 
shoes were unfastened. 


A LITTLE MAID 


198 

It was broad daylight now, and the morning 
sunshine was all about the Marquis de Lafayette 
as he looked up with a smiling nod to the little 
girl who stood gazing at him from the doorway. 

“ If thee please, sir, this is my niece, Ruth 
Pennell, who has long cherished the hope of 
seeing thee,” said Aunt Deborah. 

The young Frenchman rose from his seat, and 
bowed as ceremoniously as if Lady Washington 
herself stood before him. 

Ruth could think only of her thick shoes and 
the wandering strings, as she endeavored to make 
a proper curtsy. 

Lafayette was in the uniform of an American 
officer, and two American soldiers were on guard 
at the open door. The little party had ridden 
over from Valley Forge under cover of the night 
to discover a camping-ground for a body of 
troops which Lafayette was soon to lead toward 
Philadelphia, for Washington had discovered 
that Sir Henry Clinton had orders to evacuate 
the city. 

“ Will you not share my breakfast, Mistress 
Ruth?” asked the young Frenchman, drawing 
one of the high-backed wooden chairs to the 
table beside his own. 


OF OLD PHILADELPHIA 199 

“ The child will indeed be honored/’ replied 
Aunt Deborah, and almost before Ruth could 
realize the great honor in store for her she found 
herself seated at the table. She looked up to 
find Lafayette smiling at her shy word of thanks. 

What a wonderful breakfast for any little girl 
to have to remember. Ruth wished with all her 
heart that Winifred and Gilbert could see her. 

“ I have a small daughter of my own in 
France,” said the kind young Frenchman, “and 
I hear that your father is at Valley Forge.” 

“ Yes, sir,” responded Ruth faintly, wonder¬ 
ing to herself why she did not at once tell him 
what she had heard the English officers at 
Southwark say of General Howe’s intention to 
capture him. 

“ Well, very soon he will be safe at home,” 
continued Lafayette. And now Ruth resolved 
to speak. 

“ If you please, sir ——” she began, but at 
that moment Lafayette sprang to his feet, and 
with a word of thanks to Aunt Deborah for her 
hospitality, and a smiling nod to Ruth, he 
started toward the door, saying: 

“ I have indeed lingered too long. I must 
lose no time in getting back to camp.” 


200 


A LITTLE MAID 


But now Ruth was out of her chair in a 
second; she was no longer in awe of the young 
Frenchman. 

“ I must tell you. I heard two Englishmen 
say you were to be captured and taken to Eng¬ 
land/' she declared eagerly, running along by 
his side. 

The young man smiled down at the eager, 
half frightened child. 

44 Ah, well, ma chere , they have been saying 
that for a long time/’ he responded lightly, 4 ‘ but 
thou art a kind little maid to warn me; and I 
assure thee I will remember it,” and with a word 
of farewell he hurried across the garden, 
mounted his horse, and in a few moments had 
vanished behind the thick growing trees. 

Aunt Deborah and Ruth stood on the gar¬ 
den path listening until they could no longer 
hear the sound of the horses’ feet on the hard 
country road. Then Aunt Deborah smiled at 
Ruth. 

44 Thee should be a happy girl now, I am 
sure,” she said, 44 and thee did right to tell him 
what his enemies threaten. Perhaps that was 
one reason thee was so anxious to visit Valley 
Forge ? ” 


OF OLD PHILADELPHIA 201 


“ Oh, yes, Aunt Deborah ! If he had not 
come I should have had to run away so he might 
surely be warned/ 1 Ruth responded. 

“ I would have taken the message myself had 
need been/' said Aunt Deborah ; “ but thee sees 
that he already knew of their wicked plan. He 
did but smile at such a threat/ 1 

A few days after this visit there was great ex¬ 
citement on Barren Hill. A troop of American 
soldiers, the very flower of Washington’s army, 
commanded by Lafayette, were in camp on the 
hill. Farmers were bringing buckets of milk 
and freshly baked bread for the soldiers’ break¬ 
fast, and Ruth could see and hear the bustle 
of the camps. 

At first Mistress Farleigh and Ruth had hoped 
that Ruth’s father might be one of the com¬ 
pany, but as the day passed and he did not ap¬ 
pear at the stone house they became sure that 
he was still at Valley Forge. 

Mistress Farleigh had told Ruth not to go to 
the summit of the hill where the troops were 
camped. 

“ Thee may walk toward the river, or in the 
paths at the edge of the wood,” Aunt Deborah 
had said, adding that she wished Hero were at 


202 A LITTLE MAID 

Barren Hill. “ Then thee could go wherever 
thee pleased.” 

But that day Ruth was content to play with 
Cecilia in the pleasant garden, hoping until 
long after sunset that her father might appear. 

Neither Aunt Deborah nor Ruth slept well 
that night, and both were up very early in the 
morning. After their simple breakfast Aunt 
Deborah busied herself with bread making, that 
she might send hot corn bread to the American 
soldiers. 

“ And wilt thou not run over to Farmer 
Withely’s and ask Mistress Withely for the loan 
of a covered basket of good size, Ruth,” she 
suggested, and Ruth willingly obeyed. The 
Withely farmhouse was at the further side of a 
broad field, and hidden by a small grove of 
pine trees. It was a pleasant walk in the early 
morning, and as Ruth ran along she could see 
that the American troops were harnessing their 
horses, and that it was evident some movement 
was at hand. 

“ Oh ! Perhaps I shall never see Lafayette 
again, and I did not help him after all,” she 
thought. 

And now another and more startling sound 


OF OLD PHILADELPHIA 203 

came to Ruth's ears. Along the Ridge road she 
could hear the sound of horses' feet and the 
rattle of musketry. 

“ Perhaps it is more American soldiers com¬ 
ing," thought the little girl. But she felt 
vaguely troubled, as she went slowly on. She 
had just entered the little woodland path which 
led to Farmer Withely's when she saw a glim¬ 
mer of a red coat in the underbrush. 

Ruth stopped, and crouched low behind a 
small tree. She heard low voices, and in a mo¬ 
ment a laughing voice said : 

“ We have the fine Frenchman just where we 
want him. He is preparing his men to receive 
Howe's soldiers on the Ridge road, but he does 
not dream that General Grant with seven thou¬ 
sand troops is coming up in his rear. General 
Howe has invited a dinner party to meet Lafay¬ 
ette to-night in Philadelphia." 

“ 'Tis a fine thing to get the Frenchman," 
came the low response; “ we’d better move far¬ 
ther up the hill now." 

For a moment Ruth hesitated, hardly realiz¬ 
ing the importance of what she had overheard. 
Then she turned and ran toward the American 
encampment, where she could see troops of sol- 


204 A LITTLE MAID 

diers already moving forward toward the Ridge 
road. 

“ Oh! suppose I do not get there in time to 
tell him that there is an English army coming 
behind him,” she thought. 

Once she stumbled and fell over an unseen 
root; but at last breathless and tired she found 
herself facing a number of American soldiers, 
one of whom called out: 

“ Run home, child ; you are in danger here.” 

“ Lafayette ! Lafayette ! ” she called wildly. 
“Tell him there are thousands of English 
soldiers coming up the road behind his army. 
The road from Swedes Ford,” called Ruth. 

Almost before Ruth finished speaking one of 
the soldiers had turned his horse and galloped 
away to find his commander, and tell him of this 
unexpected enemy. Ruth turned and hurried 
home. She had entirely forgotten about her 
errand to Farmer Withely’s. 


CHAPTER XXI 


AT HOME 

Lafayette had received the startling news 
and acted upon it without a question. He 
marched his men rapidly toward Matson’s Ford, 
on the lower road, and when the British generals 
came up to Barren Hill they were astonished 
to find that they had only each other to fight. 
They decided not to cross the river, but returned 
to Philadelphia, much disappointed that the 
Marquis de Lafayette was not their prisoner. 

Lafayette likewise marched back to Valley 
Forge, where he was received with great joy. 

The soldier who had taken Ruth’s message 
found an opportunity to tell Lafayette that the 
news that had saved his army had been brought 
by a little girl. 

“ She came running up the hill calling your 
name, sir. A little girl with yellow hair and 
blue eyes,” said the soldier. 

205 


206 


A LITTLE MAID 


“ Would you know her if you saw her 
again?” questioned the young Frenchman. 

“ I should indeed, sir,” was the quick reply. 

Aunt Deborah had not questioned Ruth when, 
flushed and tired, she came running back to the 
house on the morning when the Americans had 
so easily made their escape, thanks to Ruth’s 
message, from the overwhelming armies of the 
English. For a number of days Ruth did not 
venture beyond the garden, and when, a week 
later, her father opened the gate and called 
u Ruth ! ” she ran to meet him, feeling sure that 
now everything was sure to come right, and that 
she and her father could soon return to Phila¬ 
delphia. 

But Mr. Pennell was not alone; there was a 
tall smiling soldier just behind him, and near 
the gate a graceful figure on horseback that 
Ruth recognized as Lafayette. 

Aunt Deborah came hurrying to welcome Mr. 
Pennell; the soldier had turned back, and was 
standing beside the mounted officer, who soon 
dismounted and came slowly up the path. 

“ Lieutenant Pennell, I have to thank your 
little maid for a very great service,” he said, as 
he took Ruth’s hand, and smiled down on the 


OF OLD PHILADELPHIA 207 

little girl; and then he told first of Ruth’s warn¬ 
ing that his capture was planned by General 
Howe, and then of her warning of an advancing 
army against his troops. 

“ I came this morning that I might thank her 
for her loyal service to America and to me,” he 
said, bending low to kiss the warm little hand 
that rested in his own. 

It was indeed a wonderful day for Ruth 
Pennell. 

After Lafayette rode away she told the story 
to her surprised and astonished father, while 
Aunt Deborah listened as if she could hardly 
believe her own ears. 

Lieutenant Pennell had been given a week’s 
furlough, and was quite sure that it would be 
possible for him to visit his home in Phila¬ 
delphia, taking Ruth with him, for the English 
were leaving the city as rapidly as possible. 

Later in the day Aunt Deborah told Ruth’s 
father of his little daughter’s visit to General 
Howe, and Ruth told of Gilbert’s play, and of 
the boys’ arrest by the English, of Betty’s cap¬ 
ture on account of the borrowed coat, and of her 
escape from the house by the river. 

“ The children of Philadelphia will indeed 


208 


A LITTLE MAID 


remember the year of 1778 , and surely my little 
daughter can never forget it,” responded her 
father. 

Ruth was eager to start for home as soon as 
possible, especially as Aunt Deborah said that 
she must return in midsummer with her mother 
for a longer visit. “And thy friend Winifred 
must come also,” she had added. 

Winifred and Gilbert had heard the story of 
Ruth’s warning to the American army, for 
Aunt Deborah had sent a letter to Mrs. Pennell 
at the first opportunity, and Gilbert had at once 
declared that he would “ make up a play ” 
about it. 

“ And we will have it the very day Ruth 
comes home,” he said. “ I will be Lafayette, and 
Ruth can be herself.” 

“ And let’s ask Betty and all the girls 
who went to the May party,” suggested Win¬ 
ifred. 

“ And Ned, too, and Mother and Mrs. Pen¬ 
nell,” agreed Gilbert. “ I tell you, it is lucky 
Ruth went to Barren Hill, and I guess it’s lucky 
you girls went to Southwark that day. You 
see, it put Ruth on the lookout to warn La¬ 
fayette,” he added. 


OF OLD PHILADELPHIA 209 

Gilbert’s second play proved even a greater 
success than his first. The girls listened ad¬ 
miringly to Winifred’s account of Lafayette’s 
thanking Ruth, and when the guests had all 
gone the two little friends went to their favorite 
seat in Ruth’s garden under the big maple tree. 
Hero kept very close to his little mistress, as 
if afraid that she might again suddenly disap¬ 
pear. 

“ Do you remember that day when we began 
the chair for Cecilia, Ruthie?” asked Winifred, 
“ and when you said you wished you could do 
some great service for Lafayette because he had 
come to help America ? ” 

Ruth nodded, not quite sure of the exact day, 
but very sure that she had always wanted to 
help the young Frenchman, and wondering 
what Winifred would say next. 

“ And now you have done him a great 
service,” Winifred continued soberly. “ And 
Betty and Annette, and all the girls say that 
you are a real heroine.” 

“ I guess they don’t know much about 
heroines,” responded Ruth, but there was a 
pleased smile about her mouth. Of course 
any little girl whose hand had been kissed 


210 A LITTLE MAID 

by Lafayette was a heroine, she thought hap¬ 
pily- 


The Stories in this Series are : 

A LITTLE MAID OF PROVINCE TOWN 
A LITTLE MAID OF MASSACHUSETTS COLONY 
A LITTLE MAID OF NARRAGANSETT BAY 
A LITTLE MAID OF BUNKER HILL 
A LITTLE MAID OF TICONDEROGA 
A LITTLE MAID OF OLD CONNECTICUT 
A LITTLE MAID OF OLD PHILADELPHIA 


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